Normal range: 0 – 0.65 (lower is better)
The LDL/Cholesterol ratio shows what proportion of your total cholesterol is made up of LDL. Higher values suggest a less favorable cholesterol profile, meaning more of your cholesterol is the harmful type. This ratio helps put your LDL level in context relative to your overall cholesterol.
A normal LDL/Chol is 0 – 0.65. Lower is better.
A high LDL/cholesterol ratio means LDL dominates your cholesterol pool. This happens when LDL is elevated (poor diet, genetics) and HDL is low (inactivity, smoking). Raising HDL through exercise shifts the ratio favorably even without changing LDL.
The same lifestyle changes and medications that lower LDL or raise HDL improve this ratio. Regular exercise is particularly effective because it works on both sides.
The LDL/Cholesterol ratio shows what proportion of your total cholesterol is made up of LDL. Higher values suggest a less favorable cholesterol profile, meaning more of your cholesterol is the harmful type. This ratio helps put your LDL level in context relative to your overall cholesterol.
LDL/Cholesterol Ratio tends to fall with age (correlation with age, r = -0.10). The chart below shows the median by 5-year age bin and a linear trend line.
LDL/Chol is most highly correlated with LDL Cholesterol and Non-HDL Cholesterol. Here are the top biomarkers correlated with LDL/Chol, based on 500,000 tests done by Empirical Health.
The percentage shows how strongly two biomarkers move together. A higher number means the relationship is stronger. Green = rises and falls together. Orange = one rises as the other falls.
LDL/Chol isn't ordered on its own — it's derived from a standard lipid panel, which runs about $30–$60 at Quest or LabCorp, or $190 as part of a 100+ biomarker panel from Empirical Health.
You can measure your LDL/Chol for at 2,200+ testing locations across the US. Click below and enter your zip code to browse locations near you.
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