{"id":"hdl-cholesterol","name":"HDL Cholesterol","shortName":"HDL","aliases":["HDL-C","HDL","HDL Chol","Cholesterol, HDL","High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol","Colesterol HDL","HDL-Cholesterin","HDL Cholesterol","HDL-Cholesterol","High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol","High-Density Lipoprotein","Cholesterol in HDL","HDL Cholesterol, Direct","Colesterol-HDL","Cholestérol HDL"],"abbreviations":["HDL-C","HDL","HDLC"],"loinc":[{"code":"2085-9","primary":true},{"code":"14646-4","primary":false}],"specimen":"serum-or-plasma","units":[{"ucum":"mg/dL","display":"mg/dL"},{"ucum":"mmol/L","display":"mmol/L"},{"ucum":"g/L","display":"g/L"}],"referenceRanges":[{"population":"19+","low":40,"high":null,"unit":"mg/dL","unitDisplay":"mg/dL","note":"A decision cutoff, not the central 95% of healthy people. Labcorp prints over 39 mg/dL and ARUP prints 40 mg/dL or greater for all adults, which matches the NCEP ATP III definition of low as under 40. There is no upper limit because very high HDL cholesterol has not been shown to be protective. Some labs, and the ATP III metabolic syndrome criterion, use under 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L) as low for women; see the bands.","sources":[{"title":"HDL Cholesterol (test 001925)","url":"https://labcorp.com/t/001925","publisher":"Labcorp"},{"title":"HDL Cholesterol (test 0020053)","url":"https://ltd.aruplab.com/Tests/Pub/0020053","publisher":"ARUP Laboratories"},{"title":"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): Executive Summary","url":"https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/atp3xsum.pdf","publisher":"NIH / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute","year":2001},{"title":"Plasma HDL cholesterol and risk of myocardial infarction: a mendelian randomisation study","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22607825/","publisher":"The Lancet","year":2012},{"title":"Extreme high high-density lipoprotein cholesterol is paradoxically associated with high mortality in men and women: two prospective cohort studies","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28419274/","publisher":"European Heart Journal","year":2017}]}],"review":{"status":"ai-draft","label":"AI-drafted. Awaiting verification","lastReviewed":"2026-10-03"},"summary":"HDL cholesterol is the cholesterol carried in HDL particles. Low levels are linked to more heart risk, but very high levels aren't clearly protective.","url":"https://bloodtesttracker.com/markers/hdl-cholesterol","notice":"Information, not medical advice. Ranges differ between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against."}