Our previous chart showed the risk for men with elevated cholesterol levels. This week we are looking at the implications for retirement-age women.
As before, I show the risk over a 10-year period if no steps are taken to improve cholesterol levels (i.e., “do nothing”) and, once again, I have relied on the widely accepted Framingham Risk Score.
I then look at how the risk drops if someone adopts both a regular exercise routine and a Mediterranean diet – or makes no changes other than taking a low dose of statins. This was prompted by the many readers who were skeptical about the efficacy of statins or the willingness of Canadians to change their exercise and diet routines.
Besides age, your risk level depends on how healthy you are and what steps you are prepared to take to improve your health. The women in the chart below have somewhat elevated cholesterol (total of 6.6 mmol/L), slightly elevated blood pressure (systolic of 130) and are non-smokers with no history of diabetes. (Readers who want to access their own risk can enter their personal numbers into this tool: decisionaid.ca/cvd.)
Unsurprisingly, the higher the starting age, the greater the 10-year risk, although I would have expected the risk to rise more steeply with age than it does. It was also not a surprise that the risk levels for women are significantly lower than for men – barely half. (This can be seen by comparing this chart with the previous chart.)
The bigger insight is that changing your lifestyle is more effective in reducing cholesterol-related risks than relying solely on statins. While women could reduce the risk further by both taking statins and making lifestyle changes, the additional gain is rather marginal.
I can see how these results might discourage some people from taking statins, but the better course is to consult with a doctor before coming to that conclusion.
Frederick Vettese is a former chief actuary of Morneau Shepell and the author of the PERC retirement calculator (perc-pro.ca)