High Cholesterol Facts
Key points
High total cholesterol is 240 mg/dL or more. High cholesterol has no symptoms, so many people don’t know that their cholesterol is too high.
A simple blood test can check cholesterol levels.
What is it?
High total cholesterol in the United States
- Between 2017 and 2020, 10% of adults age 20 or older had total cholesterol levels above 240 mg/dL. About 17% had high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels below 40 mg/dL.
- Slightly more than half of US adults (54.5%, or 47 million people) who could benefit from cholesterol medicine are currently taking it.
- About 86 million US adults age 20 or older have total cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL. Nearly 25 million adults in the United States have total cholesterol levels above 240 mg/dL.
- About 7% of US children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 have high total cholesterol.
The concentrations of counties with the highest cholesterol prevalence – meaning the top quintile – are located primarily in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Maine, South Carolina, and Kansas. Pockets of high-rate counties also were found in Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Washington.
Who is affected
High total cholesterol levels vary by race/ethnicity and sex
The chart below shows the prevalence of high total cholesterol (240 mg/dL or more) among adults age 20 and older in the United States from 2017 to 2020.
Racial or Ethnic Group |
|
| Males, % | Females, % |
| Non-Hispanic Black Adults | |
| 6.9 | 9.3 |
| Hispanic Adults | |
| 9.3 | 10.0 |
| Non-Hispanic White Adults | |
| 9.6 | 10.7 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian Adults | |
| 13.0 | 8.7 |
People in the United States are making progress on high cholesterol
About two thirds of US adults say they have had their cholesterol checked within the last 5 years.Most healthy adults should have their cholesterol checked every 4 to 6 years. Some people, such as those who have heart disease, diabetes, or a family history of high cholesterol, need to get their cholesterol checked more often.
Find me on Social Media
 |
Don't forget to bookmark my site to see updates..
Copyright © 2000 - 2025 K.
Kerr
|