Science / Medicine : Few Know Cholesterol Level

Despite extensive publicity about cholesterol and heart disease, fewer than 1 in 10 Americans know their cholesterol level, according to a survey by the national Centers for Disease Control.

Only 6% of the adults surveyed in 32 states last year could recall their cholesterol levels, the CDC said.

“People don’t know their numbers,” said Dr. Patrick L. Remington, a CDC cholesterol specialist. “We’ve got a long way to go to get people to know their numbers.”

At the same time, the CDC reported the serum cholesterol levels of adult Americans have dropped 3% to 4%, probably contributing to recent dramatic reductions in deaths from heart disease. Fewer than half the respondents in the survey--47%--had ever had a cholesterol check.

Fewer than half the people tested--or 19% overall--said they had been told their cholesterol level. And of the people told about their cholesterol, fewer than one-third--only 6% overall--remembered what the level was.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is ferried through the bloodstream by substances called lipoproteins. Depending on the fatty proteins attached to it, cholesterol can contribute to heart and vascular disease.