Should young people have their cholesterol levels checked? People as young as 25 also need to know their “bad” cholesterol levels, which is defined as non-HDL or non-HDL cholesterol. Non-HDL cholesterol (which includes LDL cholesterol as well as other types of “bad” cholesterol) increases the chances of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. High levels of non-HDL cholesterol have the most pronounced effect on cardiovascular risk after the age of 75 in people younger than 45, so younger people also need to be proactive about knowing their bad cholesterol levels and controlling them in a timely manner, with diet and exercise often being the first recommended steps to lowering cholesterol levels. The study’s researchers, led by researchers at the Heart and Vascular Center of the University of Hamburg in Germany, worked at 44 universities, hospitals or research institutes around the world. The study was funded by the European Union Framework Program, the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet. Elevated bad cholesterol was associated with a relative risk of developing heart disease or stroke in the long term in younger people, but an absolute risk of developing heart disease or stroke in the short term in older people. Absolute risk is your overall risk of something happening, while relative risk is your risk compared to that of others. Researchers have found that people’s bad cholesterol increases their lifetime risk of heart disease or stroke, and that elevated bad cholesterol has the greatest impact on the risk of future heart attacks or strokes in people under the age of 45. Increased concentrations of bad cholesterol therefore portend a long-term risk of cardiovascular disease, especially when moderately increased at a young age. CONCLUSION: Elevated adverse cholesterol increases the risk of heart attack or stroke over the long term, and this high risk begins at a much younger age than previously thought, and people should have their cholesterol tested in their 20s or 30s so that cholesterol-lowering measures can be considered. Such conclusions can only give an estimated average risk, not the actual risk for any individual, and the first step in lowering bad cholesterol is usually to eat a healthy diet and exercise more.