For the study, researchers compared cholesterol testing results of 300,000 people from Denmark, Canada, and the U.S. In both the U.S. and Canada, fasting for eight hours before a test is required. In Denmark, however, it is not.
Patients who are scheduled for a lipid profile test should fast (except for water) for 12-14 hours before the blood sample is drawn. If the patient's cholesterol is to be fractionated, he or she also should avoid alcohol for 24 hours before the test. http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Ato...
A fasting lipid profile may be ordered more frequently for those who have one or more major risk factor for heart disease (see below). It may be ordered for someone who has had a high screening cholesterol result to see if the total cholesterol is high because of too much LDL-C.