There's quite a bit of recent research on cholesterol levels, plus a revisiting in the BMJ of the original Minnesota Coronary Experiment that was originally used to justify recommending lowering cholesterol.
I'd suggest having a look at the 2019 paper from the American College of Cardiology in particular.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...tm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-arrow-188
Journal of the American College of Cardiology:
•Several foods relatively rich in SFAs, such as whole-fat dairy, dark chocolate, and unprocessed meat, are not associated with increased CVD or diabetes risk.
•There is no robust evidence that current population-wide arbitrary upper limits on saturated fat consumption in the United States will prevent CVD or reduce mortality.
Total cholesterol and all-cause mortality by sex and age: a prospective cohort study among 12.8 million adults - Scientific Reports
It is unclear whether associations between total cholesterol (TC) levels and all-cause mortality and the optimal TC ranges for lowest mortality vary by sex and age. 12,815,006 Korean adults underwent routine health examinations during 2001–2004, and were followed until 2013. During follow-up...
www.nature.com
No simple conclusion from this huge Korean study but -
U-curve associations between TC levels and mortality were found in both men and women. The TC range associated with the lowest mortality was 210–249 mg/dL (5.4- 6.4mmol/l). When age was further considered, U-curve associations were observed regardless of sex or age, and the optimal TC range for survival was 210–249 mg/dL (5.4- 6.4mmol/l) for each age-sex group, except for men at 18–34 years (180–219 mg/dL or 4.6-5.6 mmol/l ) and for women at 18–34 years (160–199 mg/dL or 4.1-5.1 mmol/l) and at 35–44 years (180–219 mg/dL or 4.6-5.6 mmol/l)
Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968-73)
Objective To examine the traditional diet-heart hypothesis through recovery and analysis of previously unpublished data from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment (MCE) and to put findings in the context of existing diet-heart randomized controlled trials through a systematic review and...
www.bmj.com
Conclusion: Available evidence from randomized controlled trials shows that replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes. Findings from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment add to growing evidence that incomplete publication has contributed to overestimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid.
Is the use of cholesterol in mortality risk algorithms in clinical guidelines valid? Ten years prospective data from the Norwegian HUNT 2 study
Many clinical guidelines for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention contain risk estimation charts/calculators. These have shown a tendency to overestimate risk, which indicates that there might be theoretical flaws in the algorithms. Total cholesterol ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Conclusion:
".....If our findings are generalizable, clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial."