SIB #449- Saturated Fats and Atherosclerosis
The Study: Intake of food rich in saturated fat in relation to subclinical atherosclerosis and potential modulating effects from single genetic variants
Overview: This study looked at the relationship between “intake of saturated fats and subclinical atherosclerosis as well as the possible influence of genetic variants.”
Key Points:
The authors started with the hypothesis that there would be a positive correlation between consumption of saturated fats and increased vascular disease.
Prior studies have been inconsistent regarding the long hypothesized relationship between high saturated fat intake (red meat, eggs and dairy products) and atherosclerotic disease. Some studies have shown a relationship while others have not.
This study is unique because it also looked at the relationship between high saturated fat intake and genetic.
They looked at data from 3,407 European aged 54–79 (48% female), who had participated in a large longitudinal study known as the IMPROVE study which had been collected between 2004 and 2005. (The main objective of the IMPROVE study had been to investigate the relationship between subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by ultrasound and future cardio vascular events.).
Participants in this study all had a high risk of cardiovascular disease, but could not have had any history of cardiovascular events at the time of enrollment.
To be included, participants must have had at least three known risk factors for cardiovascular disease some of which included; “male sex or at least 5 years after menopause, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, hypertension, diabetes, smoking or a family history of known cardiovascular disease”.
Dietary intake of saturated fats was estimated using self reported intake of various foods rich in saturated fats.
Level of atherosclerotic disease was assessed using ultrasound to measure thickness in the walls of the carotid arteries (aka C-IMT which stands for “carotid intima-media thickness”).
Finally, DNA was extracted from blood samples of all participants and genotyping was conducted to screen for “genome-wide gene-environment interactions”.
Statistical analysis was performed to look for relationships between genetic variants, level of saturated fat intake, and atherosclerotic disease as measured by increased thickness in the carotid artery walls.
Author’s Conclusions: “In this European population at high risk of CVD but free of clinical manifestations of CVD, no significant associations were found between a diet rich in saturated fat and abnormal C-IMT, nor progression of C-IMT, after adjustments for sex, age, level of education and lifestyle factors.” (emphasis ours)
“Our result of no association between a diet rich in saturated fat and abnormal baseline C-IMT is in line with results of some previous epidemiological studies.”
Reviewer's Comments: Not a big fan of studies which require participants to estimate consumption of various foods as they are prone to errors in recall. Otherwise, an interesting study which pokes some holes in the whole hypothesis regarding the perils of red meat consumption. As usual, more research in needed.
Reviewer: Mark R. Payne DC
Reference: F. Laguzzi, B. Maitusong, RJ. Strawbridge et al. Intake of food rich in saturated fat in relation to subclinical atherosclerosis and potential modulating effects from single genetic variants. Sci Rep. 2021; 11: 7866. Published online 2021 Apr 12.
Link to Full Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042105/