Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentrations and Death Due to Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage: The Ibaraki Prefectural Health Study

Previous studies have suggested that low total cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage. The present study extends the evidence of an association between low total cholesterol levels and hemorrhage risk. We showed an association between low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( 80 mg/dL [ 2.06 mmol/L]) and increased risk of death due to intraparenchymal hemorrhage in the general population. The basic pathology of intraparenchymal hemorrhage is arteriolosclerosis, characterized by angionecrosis (destruction) of smooth muscle cells in intracerebral small arteries, as opposed to atherosclerosis (plaque formation) in medium to large arteries. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol may have an opposite effect on development of intraparenchymal hemorrhage than on coronary heart disease. The present finding suggests that low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol may be an independent risk factor for intraparenchymal hemorrhage. See p 2136.