“Good” cholesterol levels tied to lower COVID-19 risks

Healthy levels of “good” HDL cholesterol are associated with a lower risk of severe COVID-19, said a study posted on medRxiv on Jan. 26 ahead of peer review.

Researchers analyzed records of 317,306 participants in the UK Biobank study, including 869 people who were hospitalized for COVID-19. Participants with healthy HDL levels were at lower risk of becoming infected with the new coronavirus, and those who did become infected were less likely to be hospitalized.

Healthy levels of HDL are at least 40 mg/dL (1 mmol/L) for men and 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L) for women, according to U.S. guidelines. After taking health behaviors, socioeconomic status and other factors into account, the odds of hospitalization for COVID-19 went down 9% with every 0.2 mmol/L (roughly 8 mg/dL) increase in HDL-cholesterol, the study found.

Earlier studies of Biobank participants found the same inverse relationship between HDL and hospitalizations for other infectious diseases, the authors said. The study does not prove that HDL itself protects against COVID-19. Still, the authors said, the anti-inflammatory and immune properties of HDL may explain their findings.