This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 1998 Feb 25;279(8):585-92
Study title and authors:
Risk factors for 5-year mortality in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.
Fried LP, Kronmal RA, Newman AB, Bild DE, Mittelmark MB, Polak JF, Robbins JA, Gardin JM.
Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md, USA.
This paper can be accessed online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9486752
Diuretics also known as water pills (such as Demadex, Diuril, Enduron, Esidrix, Lasix, Lozol, Saluron, Thalitone, Zaroxolyn, Oretic, Aldactone and Hydrozyne) are prescribed to lower blood pressure. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is supposedly the "bad" cholesterol and people are prescribed statin drugs to lower their LDL cholesterol.
This study set out to determine the factors that predict mortality in men and women aged 65 years or older. The study included 5,201 men and women who were followed for five years.
The study found:
(a) Those who took diuretics had a 103% increase in death rates compared to those who did not take diuretics.
(b) Those with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol had a 49% reduction in death rates compared to those with the lowest levels of LDL cholesterol.
This study reveals that by NOT taking diuretics and having high levels of (the so-called "bad") low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol will result in a longer lifespan.
