Hyperlipidemia and its significance in the aged population

Starting in childhood, blood lipid levels rise progressively with each ten-year period until age 70, when cholesterol and triglyceride levels begin to stabilize and then decline. By age 80 there is a precipitous drop to approximately the values noted in persons of the 20-30 age group. Data on 195 residents of a geriatric center are included. Despite the lower average lipid levels, 30 per cent of the elderly show some lipid abnormality. There is a definite increase in the risk of death from coronary artery disease in hyperlipidemic persons as compared to those who are normolipidemic, even during the eighth and ninth age decades. Hyperlipidemia appears to be a significant risk in the elderly, as in persons of any age, and should be treated accordingly.