Oh IH, et al. - Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort from 2009 to 2015, researchers examined the link between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in 365,457 Korean adults aged ≥40 years. The various categories of HDL-C level were defined: <1.0, 1.0–1.19, 1.2–1.39, 1.4–1.59, 1.6–1.79 (reference), 1.8–1.99, 2.0–2.19 and ≥ 2.20 mmol/L. They used Cox proportional hazard models to determine the link. Deaths of 9,350 participants (2.6%) were reported during a median 3.5-year follow-up period. Increased risk of all-cause death was reported in relation to very high HDL-C level in South Korea. Mortality risk from external causes was partly responsible for increased all-cause mortality risk in people with very high HDL-C level.