Conditions That Increase Risk for High Cholesterol

Having diabetes increases your risk for high cholesterol.

Diabetes mellitus increases the risk for high cholesterol.¹ Your body needs glucose (sugar) for energy. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas that helps move glucose from the food you eat to your body’s cells. If you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin, can’t use its own insulin as well as it should, or both.

Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood. Talk to your doctor about ways to manage diabetes and control other risk factors.

Reference

1. National Cholesterol Education Program. Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) [PDF-1M]. NIH Pub. No. 02-5215. Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 2002.