Cholesterol finger prick v "proper" blood test accuracy?

[HighburyLass]

A year ago I had a FBC which showed my total cholesterol was 6.
I am very fit, minimal drinking, no smoking, decent diet. Father is on statins.
I made some dietary tweaks.
In March I moved, changed GP and they retested. Level had come down to 5.5 so v happy and continued with cholesterol friendly diet.

Today went to Our Future Health appointment and finger prick test had my level at 7.17.

I'm shocked that it could've gone up so much and so quickly.

Anyone any knowledge of finger prick accuracy?

I have the same issue, my reading was 5.7 and I have been working hard to bring the level down, went to Our Future Health and finger prick result was 6.7?

Mine had gone down to 5.2 with our future health so I was hoping it was accurate.

Hmmmm, interesting!
Let's see if anyone else has had the same

DH and I both did Our Future Health and got unfeasibly high cholesterol results. Subsequent tests via the GP have been back where they always are.

Cholesterol levels vary hugely over any given day or week.

My DH had a high result from Future Health, so went to the GP for a blood test which was normal.

Actually they don't. If you start taking statins for high cholesterol, it can take 2 -3 months to stabilise. You might be thinking of triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood, which certainly can vary according to the composition of your last meal.

Fingerprick blood tests are often not as reliable as full blood tests. But the other thing here is that unless you are looking at secondary prevention (ie you already have heart or circulatory disease, or you're diabetic), you shouldn't be looking at a total cholesterol figure.

If you get a full test for lipid levels, it will include different types of cholesterol. The HCP (or their computer!) will then look at the balance of these different types, plus lots of other factors - your age, ethnicity, family history, other medical problems, etc etc. That then gives you a cholesterol level which accounts for your risk factors and will therefore be more valid.

SadMary thank you for that insight, it's really helpful 😊

Worth getting a proper blood test done if you're worried

I had a cholesterol blood test a month ago in a general health check thing for insurance. It came back at 6.7 but with majority good cholesterol

I then signed up for our future health and the finger prick test was also 6.7 but it said my bad cholesterol was a lot higher than my good one so I've ignored that reading for now!

I have started on plant stenols and changed my diet and will have another blood test in a few months time!

Yes I've had 2 full blood tests which showed much lower levels than the finger prick test. So not especially worried, just wondered if other people found a difference or if the finger prick, being an instant test,was less accurate

This is really interesting. I had my cholesterol tested as part of the Our Future Health study back in March and it was 6.5. I was quite worried and made some dietary changes. I wonder if it's worth requesting a re-test from the GP?

The finger prick test is not accurate at all, it is impacted by the blood sugar on that given day.

The blood test is accurate as it is impacted by the last 3 months.

My results - blood test 6, finger prick 11!