Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
More than 100 million American adults have high cholesterol, and no two cases of high cholesterol are exactly alike. While many people have high cholesterol due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle devoid of exercise, or simply because of genetics, other health conditions can put you at risk as well — especially conditions that affect the body’s metabolism.
When the body's metabolism — the process by which the body turns food into energy — is affected by a health problem, cholesterol levels are frequently affected. Figuring out the best way to treat high cholesterol starts with understanding why it's happening, so identifying other health problems is a primary consideration. "When we see people who come in for assessment of an elevated form of LDL cholesterol or triglycerides, we always want to look for associated metabolic abnormalities," says Stephen J. Nicholls, MBBS, PhD, clinical director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention. These often include conditions like diabetes and hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid.
High cholesterol treatment is about "managing not just one risk factor in our patients, but the whole picture," says Dr. Nicholls. "It's often important to keep that in mind when you're looking at a patient and their cholesterol levels."
High Cholesterol: Health Conditions That Put You at Risk
There are a number of health conditions that can lead to high cholesterol levels, and people who have them need to understand that they're at risk. Since high cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, keeping it under control is essential. Knowing your risk is the first step to prevention.
These health conditions are known to increase cholesterol levels:
- Diabetes (insufficient production of the hormone insulin)
- Obesity/overweight
- Kidney disease
- Cushing’s syndrome (an excess production of hormones)
- Hypothyroidism (another hormonal imbalance)
- Liver diseases like cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
- Alcoholism
There are a few reasons why these health conditions raise cholesterol levels. First, the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood "essentially reflect how our body works to metabolize the fat and cholesterol that we eat in a day," says Nicholls. "I think that diabetes and thyroid disorders can affect the way we metabolize cholesterol and triglycerides." This has a direct effect on triglyceride and cholesterol levels, he says. So when these conditions begin affecting metabolism and slowing it down, the body isn't able to process everything it needs to, including cholesterol.
The same holds true for conditions like alcoholism and liver disease. If the liver can't metabolize all of the cholesterol that you eat and that your body produces, cholesterol builds up in the blood.
Preventing High Cholesterol
If you have any of these health conditions, you know that you're at risk for developing high cholesterol. That's why limiting cholesterol in your diet by reducing your intake of foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol and getting regular exercise are so important.
Frequent monitoring of your cholesterol levels is also important to stay on top of high cholesterol and keep it from raising your risk of heart disease. For better protection, your doctor may also recommend that you take a cholesterol-lowering medication to keep your risk of heart disease as low as possible.
