Approved research

Low LDL cholesterol and mortality

Lay summary

LDL cholesterol is directly implicated in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease and evidence from several types of studies have demonstrated an association exposure to LDL cholesterol and risk of coronary artery disease. The present study will involve correlating genetic variation in genes mediating changes in LDL cholesterol via pathways blocked by LDL cholesterol lowering medication, using data from publicly available databases, and combine this information with information on the genetic variants and survival from the UK Biobank. If genetic variation in genes in a specific LDL cholesterol pathway is associated with lower risk of death, this implies that a targeting of this pathway with medication may cause a similar change. Our study will have wide relevance to population health given the high prevalence of atherosclerosis, and morbidity/mortality associated with the disease.