Association between cholesterol level and mortality in dialysis patients: role of inflammation and malnutrition

Inflammation and malnutrition may cause cholesterol levels to decrease, according to a study of 823 dialysis patients. This could explain why dialysis patients with low cholesterol levels have an increased risk of death. It is not because high cholesterol levels are beneficial, it is because low cholesterol levels are a marker for inflammation and malnutrition. For this reason, dialysis patients with high cholesterol levels should take cholesterol-lowering drugs.