Total Cholesterol optimal range and reference range
Compiled by Alina Radu, founder of Sera, from the published sources below · Last reviewed November 9, 2026
Sera's bands for Total Cholesterol:
- Optimal 120 – 180 mg/dL (3.1 – 4.7 mmol/L); sufficient 100 – 200 mg/dL (2.6 – 5.2 mmol/L); out of range above 200 mg/dL.
Evidence grade: Established clinical threshold. A band edge that corresponds to a recognised diagnostic, risk or treatment threshold from a major clinical guideline or public-health body.
All units
| Unit | Optimal | Sufficient | Out of range |
|---|---|---|---|
| mg/dL | 120 – 180 | 100 – 200 | above 200 |
| mmol/L | 3.1 – 4.7 | 2.6 – 5.2 | above 5.2 |
Bounded on the high side only — a low result is not treated as out of range. No evidence-based lower bound; a low total cholesterol on lipid-lowering therapy is the treatment working, not a finding.
What the evidence says
The acceptable band ends at the conventional 200 mg/dL (the NHS uses 5 mmol/L). The narrower optimal band of 120 to 180 mg/dL is a functional target with limited evidence: no current guideline sets it, and population studies do not show lower mortality below 180. The American Heart Association now scores non-HDL cholesterol in preference to total cholesterol, and that marker is the better one to read. A low result is not flagged.
Sources
- Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know — MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026 · Government / public-health guidanceHealthy adult levels: total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL, non-HDL less than 130, LDL less than 100, and HDL of 60 or more as best. HDL is low below 40 mg/dL in men and below 50 in women.
- Cholesterol levels — National Health Service (UK), 2026 · Government / public-health guidanceHealthy adult levels in mmol/L: total cholesterol below 5, non-HDL below 4, and HDL above 1.0 for men or above 1.2 for women.
What Total Cholesterol measures
The total amount of cholesterol in your blood.
A general marker of heart risk. It is more useful when broken down into LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Sera bands it against functional targets rather than diagnostic cut-offs, and current guidelines lean on ApoB and non-HDL rather than total cholesterol on its own.