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Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease in men

EDITOR,--Alberto Ascherio and colleagues were unable to show a significant association between intake of saturated fatty acids (as percentage of energy) or of cholesterol and total myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease after appropriate adjustments.¹ With saturated fatty acids they found a positive trend for fatal coronary heart disease but an inverse trend for all cases of myocardial infarction (fatal plus non-fatal). Thus these data indicate a clear inverse relation between saturated fatty acids and non-fatal myocardial infarction. The authors fail to comment on this surprising divergence.

From the numerous studies in the literature they quote "the evidence" for a direct association between intake of saturated fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease--namely, four international comparisons and four prospective studies. But in fact these studies tend to show the opposite. In Scrimshaw and Guzman's study animal fat was not related to . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease in men: cohort follow up study in the United States

Alberto Ascherio, Eric B Rimm, Edward L Giovannucci, Donna Spiegelman, Meir Stampfer, and Walter C Willett
BMJ 1996 313: 84-90. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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