History of the cholesterol controversy in Britain

The lipid hypothesis, the concept that cholesterol plays a causal role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, has been the subject of a controversy which started in the 1950s, peaked in the 1970s and 80s and then subsided in the 1990s. It was finally resolved by the positive outcome of the S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:QJM : An International Journal of Medicine 2009-02, Vol.102 (2), p.81-86
Main Author: Thompson, G. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cholesterol - blood
Cholesterol - history
Coronary Disease - history
Coronary Disease - prevention & control
Disorders of blood lipids. Hyperlipoproteinemia
General aspects
History, 20th Century
Humans
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - adverse effects
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - history
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Hypercholesterolemia - drug therapy
Hypercholesterolemia - history
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Simvastatin - history
Simvastatin - therapeutic use
United Kingdom
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Summary:The lipid hypothesis, the concept that cholesterol plays a causal role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, has been the subject of a controversy which started in the 1950s, peaked in the 1970s and 80s and then subsided in the 1990s. It was finally resolved by the positive outcome of the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study, the first of 14 prevention trials using statins which showed that lowering cholesterol reduced both cardiovascular events and total mortality. This commentary focuses primarily on the events and people involved in the cholesterol controversy in Britain. The foremost critics of the lipid hypothesis are now deceased but unfortunately for many of the patients with hypercholesterolaemia and coronary heart disease it took the best part of 50 years to disprove the sceptics. This brief account relates why it took so long.
ISSN:1460-2725
1460-2393
DOI:10.1093/qjmed/hcn158