Low cholesterol level as risk factor for noncoronary death in middle-aged men.

Eighty-six deaths occurred zero to five years (mean, 2.5 years) after the screening investigation in 10,000 middle-aged men in Malmö, Sweden. The men were 47 to 50 years old at the time of the screening and represented 75% of their total birth-year cohorts in Malmö. The mortality showed two peaks, one at the higher end of the cholesterol distribution and the other and more pronounced one at the lower end of the cholesterol distribution. The first peak corresponded to the cardiovascular deaths while the second peak corresponded to the noncoronary death causes, including alcohol-related deaths.