Getting cholesterol extremely low doesn’t seem to make people more likely to get cancer, stroke, diabetes, liver problems, muscle issues, or cataracts — at least not in the time frame studied.
Scientific Claim
Very low LDL-cholesterol levels (<40 mg/dL) are not associated with increased risk of non-cardiovascular death, cancer, hemorrhagic stroke, new-onset diabetes, neurocognitive disorders, hepatobiliary disorders, muscle disorders, or cataracts compared to higher LDL-C levels, based on pooled data from 10 randomized trials.
Original Statement
“The incidence of all safety outcomes was similar in the two groups: non-cardiovascular death: OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.87–1.45; P = 0.36; any adverse events: OR 1.00, 0.90–1.11, P = 0.94; cancer: OR 1.02, 0.95–1.10, P = 0.57; haemorrhagic stroke OR 0.89, 0.66–1.20, P = 0.44; new-onset diabetes: OR 1.16, 0.91–1.47, P = 0.23; neurocognitive disorders: OR 0.97, 0.91–1.04, P = 0.41; haepatobiliary disorders: OR 0.99, 0.83–1.18, P = 0.93; muscle disorders: OR 0.94, 0.77–1.13, P = 0.49; cataract: OR 1.28, 0.78–2.10, P = 0.34.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The abstract reports null findings using ORs and p-values without causal language. The use of 'not associated' is conservative and appropriate given the data. Full trial methods are unverified, so 'association' is the correct verb strength.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Safety and efficacy of very low LDL-cholesterol intensive lowering: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomized trials.
This big study looked at thousands of people with very low cholesterol and found they didn’t have more problems like cancer, strokes, or diabetes than people with higher cholesterol—so having very low cholesterol isn’t dangerous for these conditions.