India, July 30 -- Cholesterol-related diseases are rising sharply worldwide, with the burden concentrated in India, China, and other lower-income regions where screening and statin access remain limited, according to a new study.

India and China together account for 34% of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) - the single largest concentration of cholesterol-related disease burden on the planet - according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 study, published in the medical journal JAMA.

In 2023 alone, elevated LDL-C, commonly known as "bad cholesterol", caused 3.6 million deaths and 90.7 million healthy years lost. Nearly a third of ischaemic heart disease dea...