The Study
Clinical and pathophysiological evidence supporting the safety of extremely low LDL levels-The zero-LDL hypothesis.
This study is like a teacher summarizing what other scientists have found — it doesn’t do a new experiment or collect new data. It helps us think about ideas, but it doesn’t prove anything on its own.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
This study looks at whether having very, very low 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) is safe for people. It checks what happens in people who naturally have super low levels or take strong cholesterol drugs.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 51 / 100
Quality score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, the results suggest that very low LDL cholesterol is not harmful and might even show the body is clearing cholesterol well.
- 2People with LDL as low as 14 mg/dL don't seem to have more health problems.
- 3Those in drug trials like FOURIER and IMPROVE-IT also didn't get sicker from low cholesterol.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of clinical lipidology
Year
2018
Authors
L. Masana, J. Girona, D. Ibarretxe, R. Rodríguez-Calvo, R. Rosales, J. Vallvé, C. Rodríguez-Borjabad, M. Guardiola, Marina Rodríguez, S. Guaita-Esteruelas, Iris Oliva, N. Martínez-Micaelo, M. Heras, R. Ferré, J. Ribalta, N. Plana
Related Content
Claims (5)
Really low 'bad' cholesterol might actually be a sign your body is doing a great job cleaning it out — not something to worry about.
Having really low 'bad' cholesterol thanks to how your body naturally processes it doesn’t seem to cause health problems, even over many years.
People who take cholesterol-lowering drugs and get their bad cholesterol really low don’t seem to have more side effects than those who don’t get it as low.
Can someone be perfectly healthy even if their 'bad' cholesterol is super low—like 14 mg/dL?
Your body gets rid of cholesterol mainly through a cleanup system in the liver—since cells can't break cholesterol down, they send it to the liver to be removed.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.