>>My HDL, or what people refer to as “good” cholesterol, was 76, which is supposed to be very good.
Without getting far into the details, HDL is *very* poorly understood. I'd hesitate to call it 'good'.
For anyone looking to learn about the lipids systems - and can listen to podcasts, I'd very much recommend the 5-part series Peter Attia did with Tom Dayspring (AKA "Dr Lipid"). Here's a link to the first one: https://peterattiamd.com/tomdayspring1/
If you can afford it, Peter's show notes are *very* good - but only available to subscribers. The podcasts are free to anyone with a podcast player.
BTW/FWIW most PCPs use an app to calculate whether they should recommend statins - and age is a major factor. If your doctor says you should be taking statins, ask them to re-run the app but set your age a decade younger. It seems to think that everyone over 60 should be taking statins.
Finally, the increase in risk of T2DM from statins is higher for females than males. If you're borderline, ask your doctor about berberine which can both lower LDL (PCSK9 inhibitor) and help with glucose control. There are also injectable PCSK9 inhibitors, but they're mostly not covered by insurance and $$$. Berberine is available OTC as it's considered a 'supplement' like chromium picolinate (also useful for glucose control).
I'm not anti-statin; I'm just not convinced that lowering LDL improves outcomes for those of us without familial hypercholestemia. (if you've got FH, consider berberine alongside statins.) In very low doses they do appear to work as an anti-inflammatory and systemic inflammation does seem to go up as we age. Too much more to put in a response; fascinating stuff to a nerd like me. :-)