Relation of serum albumin concentration to death rate in nursing home men

Serum albumin was measured in 126 men (average age 70.6; range 40 to 96) of a Veterans Administration Nursing Home, and was correlated with other items in an extensive clinical data base, including death or survival during the year after the analysis. The reason for institutionalization was chronic neurologic disease or other disabling physical condition in 63 men (group A), and psychiatric disorder in 63 men (group B). In group A, the proportions of men with albumin less than 3.5, 3.5-4.0, and greater than 4.0 g/dl were 6%, 37%, and 57%, respectively. In this group, the serum albumin level was significantly (p less than 0.05) correlated with death rate, hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum cholesterol, and serum lactic dehydrogenase. The death rate in group A during the year after the albumin analysis was 25%. For the patients with albumin level less than 3.5, 3.5-4.0, and greater than 4.0 g/dl, the death rates were 50%, 43%, and 11% respectively (p less than 0.01 for comparison of the former two groups with the latter). The subgroup with albumin 3.5-4.0 g/dl represented only 37% of the men in group A, but accounted for 63% of the group's deaths. In group B, serum albumin level was not significantly correlated with any other clinical variable. Death rate during the year after the albumin analysis was only 2% in group B, and did not correlate with the albumin level. These data indicate that, in nonpsychiatric Nursing Home men, the desirable level for the serum albumin concentration is higher than 3.5 g/dl.     

A comparison of the effect of diets containing beef protein and plant proteins on blood lipids of healthy young men

The effect of plant and animal protein on blood lipid levels was investigated in eight healthy normolipidemic men aged 18 to 27 yr. All subjects were fed both plant and animal protein diets in a cross-over design. Each diet was consumed for a 21-day period. Proteins from commonly used plant sources made up the plant protein diet. Beef protein was substituted for 55% of the plant proteins in the animal protein diet. Fasting venous blood samples were collected at the beginning of the study and at 7-day intervals throughout the 42-day study. Serum was analyzed for total cholesterol and triglycerides. Plasma low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were determined. There were not any statistically significant differences in mean serum total cholesterol or mean plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol when subjects consumed the diets. Mean plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly (p less than 0.05) elevated at the end of the 21-day period when the animal protein diet was consumed (48 +/- 3 mg/dl) compared to the period when the plant protein diet was fed (42 +/- 2 mg/dl). Mean serum triglyceride values were significantly (p less than 0.05) increased at day 7 of the plant protein diet period (136 +/- 19 mg/dl) compared to the same time period when the animal protein diet was consumed (84 +/- 12 mg/dl). The results of the study indicated that the ingestion of a diet in which 55% of the protein was supplied by beef protein was not associated with a hypercholesterolemic effect in healthy normolipidemic young men.     

Lipoprotein changes when a reported diet is tested in distance runners

Diet records previously recorded by distance runners indicated that runners consumed considerably more calories, largely as carbohydrates, than did inactive controls. We examined the effect of this reported diet on the serum lipids and lipoproteins of active men. Ten male runners ran 16 km daily and were provided defined diets containing 3587 +/- 233 kcal/day (mean +/- SD) and composed of 53% (486 +/- 31 g/day) carbohydrates, 15% (134 +/- 8 g/day) protein, and 32% (131 +/- 9 g/day) fat for 21 days. Serum samples were obtained before and during the diet period. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol fell 5 +/- 12 mg/dl before (p = NS) and 15 +/- 13 mg/dl (p less than 0.01) during the diet. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol did not change during the week before, but decreased 6 +/- 2 mg/dl (p less than 0.001) while subjects consumed the defined diet. This decrease was due to a 7 +/- 6 mg/dl (p less than 0.01) fall in HDL2 cholesterol (1.063 less than rho less than 1.125 g/ml). Alterations in HDL cholesterol were accompanied by reductions in apo A-1, the major HDL apoprotein. After 14 days on the defined diet no additional changes in serum lipids occurred. Lipoprotein changes of this magnitude were unexpected and suggest that the diet diaries used to design the defined diet were unreliable or that factors not accounted for in diet records had significant effects in these subjects.     

Hypercholesterolemia prevalence, awareness, and treatment in blacks and whites: the Minnesota Heart Survey

Two cross-sectional population-based surveys were conducted in 1985 and 1986 to describe cardiovascular risk factors in blacks and whites in the Twin Cities. A total of 1,254 blacks and 2,934 whites ages 35-74 years participated. The surveys consisted of a home interview followed by survey center visit during which nonfasting serum total cholesterol level was measured and medication use during the past year was reviewed. Age-adjusted mean values for serum total cholesterol were significantly higher among white than black participants for both men (207 vs 193 mg/dl, P less than 0.001) and women (206 vs 202 mg/dl, P less than 0.05). Blacks had significantly higher serum HDL cholesterol levels than whites (men, 49 vs 41 mg/dl, P less than 0.001; women, 56 vs 54 mg/dl, P less than 0.01). The age-adjusted prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (serum total cholesterol greater than or equal to 240 mg/dl on the day of survey and/or current use of cholesterol lowering medication) was significantly higher among white than black men (18.3% vs 12.2%, P less than 0.01). No significant race differences were noted for women (whites, 19.7% vs blacks, 16.6%). Among hypercholesterolemic men, 66% of whites current use of cholesterol lowering medication) was significantly higher among white than black men (18.3% vs 12.2%, P less than 0.01). No significant race differences were noted for women (whites, 19.7% vs blacks, 16.6%). Among hypercholesterolemic men, 66% of whites current use of cholesterol lowering medication) was significantly higher among white than black men (18.3% vs 12.2%, P less than 0.01). No significant race differences were noted for women (whites, 19.7% vs blacks, 16.6%). Among hypercholesterolemic men, 66% of whites and 80% of blacks were unaware of their condition; among women, 72% of whites and 79% of blacks were unaware. Among individuals told by a physician they had "high blood fats," 2.9% of whites and no blacks were using medication for elevated blood cholesterol levels, while 70% of whites and 63% of blacks reported being advised to follow a low-fat-low-cholesterol diet. These data emphasize the need for education programs for physicians and patients regarding detection and control of hypercholesterolemia.     

Ischemic heart disease risk factors in middle-aged Seventh-day Adventist men and their neighbors

Seventh-day Adventists in California have much lower mortality from ischemic heart disease than do other Californians, but the risk factors have not been well documented previously for a representative sample. This study, conducted in 1982, chose a random sample of 160 Californian non-Hispanic white middle-aged Adventist men, 160 of their similar-aged male neighbors, and documented traditional ischemic heart disease risk factors. Results show major dietary differences between the two groups as expected, this being reflected in significant differences in consumption of total fat, saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and crude fiber. Questionnaire data suggested that the Adventists also exercised 50% more, rarely smoked, but had identical Framingham Type A/B scores. There were no differences in obesity or blood pressure levels, but serum total cholesterol was significantly lower in the Adventists (190.1 vs. 203.5 mg/dl, p less than 0.001), as was low density lipoprotein cholesterol (125 vs. 134.0 mg/dl, p less than 0.03) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (42.3 vs. 46.0 mg/dl, p less than 0.005). Consequently, the ratio of total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol was virtually identical between the two groups. Possible explanations for some of these findings are discussed.     

Low Plasma Cholesterol Predicts an Increased Risk of Lung-Cancer in Elderly Women

Background. There have been significant efforts in the United States to lower high cholesterol levels. Studies of men, however, have found a higher total cancer mortality rate at lower levels of plasma cholesterol. Many of these studies have found that lung cancer is more closely associated than other cancers with low cholesterol. Of the studies that include women, none has demonstrated a statistically significant inverse association between low cholesterol and lung cancer. Methods. We examined the relation between very low plasma cholesterol levels (<160 mg/dl) and lung cancer death in an 18-year prospective study of 2,011 men and 2,327 women. Results. After adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, and education, the relative hazard of lung cancer mortality for those with low cholesterol (<160 mg/dl) compared with all other cholesterol levels (≥ 160 mg/dl) was 1.75 among men (P = 0.28) and 3.29 among women (P = 0.02). Excluding those who died within 5 years of baseline did not change the results. Conclusions. Both men and women with baseline plasma cholesterol levels <160 mg/dl were more likely to die of lung cancer. This difference was statistically significant in women. The association could not be explained by occult malignancy, smoking, or socioeconomic status.     

Plasma testosterone in nursing home men

Plasma testosterone (T) was measured at 8-9 a.m. in 44 men chronically institutionalized in a Veterans Administration Nursing Home, and correlated with an extensive clinical data base (including age, diagnoses, drugs, laboratory tests, anthropometric measurements, and mortality during the year after the T analysis). Age averaged 76.4 years (range 60-95). Plasma T was below the lower limit of the normal range for healthy young men (i.e. less than 300 ng/dl) in 46% of the men studied. Samples containing low T (less than 300 ng/dl) also contained subnormal unbound T, but normal concentrations of thyroxine and cortisol. Of the low T samples, 45% contained elevated LH, FSH or both (over 20 mU/ml), and the remaining 55% contained LH and FSH levels below this threshold, these two subgroups representing peripheral and central hypogonadism respectively. Plasma T was significantly (p less than 0.02) correlated in a direct relationship with hemoglobin, serum cholesterol, and the occurrence of seizures.     

Menopause and serum cholesterol: differences between blacks and whites. The Minnesota Heart Survey.

The relation between menopause and serum total and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol was examined by the Minnesota Heart Survey in a cross-sectional, population-based study of 344 black women and 474 white women aged 35-54 years from the Twin Cities metropolitan area in 1985-1986. Analysis of covariance was used to examine differences in serum total and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol in black women and white women by menopausal status, adjusting for the effects of age, educational level, cigarette smoking, body mass index, exercise, alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus, sex hormone, beta blocker, and diuretic use. Among whites, adjusted serum total cholesterol was 13 mg/dl higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women (p less than 0.002). Black postmenopausal women had slightly higher serum total cholesterol than did their premenopausal counterparts (5.4 mg/dl). However, this was not statistically significant. An interaction term in a linear regression model confirmed a racial difference in the total cholesterol association with menopause (p less than 0.02). The higher total cholesterol levels observed in white postmenopausal women were mainly among those with natural menopause (20.7 mg/dl higher than premenopausal, p less than 0.0003) and those with a hysterectomy and at least one intact ovary (11.0 mg/dl higher, p = 0.05). Among black women, only the subgroup with a hysterectomy and a bilateral oophorectomy had a significantly higher serum total cholesterol (19.9 mg/dl higher than premenopausal, p less than 0.05). There was no significant association between high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and any type of menopause in either black women or white women. Our findings may reflect a true physiologic difference in the relation between menopause and serum total cholesterol between American blacks and whites. The lack of a significant association between menopause and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol in either race raises the possibility that menopause may not affect atherosclerosis risk via reduced high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol.     

Short-term effects of fat emulsion on serum lipids in postoperative patients

The effect of short-term infusion of intravenous fat on serum lipids was assessed in 23 patients who had elective cancer operations and were given 20% Intralipid for 5 days postoperatively as part of a standard total parenteral nutrition regimen. Serum lipids were measured prior to, during and after the 5-day infusion period. The percentage of cholesterol as high-density lipoproteins (HDL) fell from a mean preinfusion value of 34.7 +/- 2.8 to 27.9 +/- 2.5 (p less than 0.05), while the percentage of cholesterol as low-density lipoproteins (LDL) increased from 40.7 +/- 2.2 to 46.8 +/- 3.4 (p less than 0.05). Serum triglycerides fell significantly (p less than 0.01) from 106.2 +/- 13.7 mg/dl to 64.6 +/- 8.8 mg/dl at 3 days, being 85.3 +/- 3.7 mg/dl at 5 days. No significant change in percent cholesterol as very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), or levels of serum total cholesterol or phospholipids occurred. Lipoprotein X was detectable in six patients after 5 days. To study triglyceride clearance 1.7 g/kg of fat emulsion was infused over 8 hr and serial blood samples obtained. Within 3 hr of stopping the fat infusion, triglyceride levels had fallen to preinfusion values.     

A mortality risk index for men in a Veterans Administration extended care facility

the purpose of this study was to develop (phase I) and validate (phase II) a mortality prognostic index, based on the annual clinical data base, for the men of this Veterans Administration extended care facility. The study population during phase I consisted of 123 men who were residing in three of the seven wards of the facility in August 1984. Sixty-six of these individuals were institutionalized because of a chronic neurologic (50) or medical (15) disorder ("nonpsychiatric group"). In 57 men, the reason for institutionalization was a chronic psychosis (schizophrenia, 53; manic depressive illness, 4) ("psychiatric group"). During August to October 1984, a comprehensive clinical data base comprising 70 attributes (including diagnoses and drugs) was collected. Deaths were recorded during the next 14 months. Death rate during the 14 months of observation was 33.3% in the nonpsychiatric group, and only 1.7% in the psychiatric group. In the nonpsychiatric men, univariate analysis yielded six attributes significantly correlated with death rate: serum cholesterol level, hematocrit, hemoglobin, midarm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold, and number of morbidity episodes. After serum cholesterol and hematocrit had been entered into a multivariate analysis model, none of the other four attributes contributed significant information about death rate. The multivariate analysis led to a mortality risk index (MRI) for nonpsychiatric patients, MRI = [hematocrit in %] + 10% [serum cholesterol in mg/dl]. As MRI varied from less than 50 to greater than 65, death rate in the nonpsychiatric group varied in parallel from 86-11%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effects of smoking and drinking habits and vitamin A intake on serum concentrations of beta-carotene and retinol]

Serum samples from 341 males aged 10 to 59 years were obtained and stored at -40 degrees C until examined for retinol and beta-carotene concentrations by HPLC, and their relationships to smoking habit, alcohol drinking habit and vitamin A intake were studied. In univariate analysis the serum beta-carotene level was significantly lower in the smokers than in the non-smokers (smokers: 4.6 micrograms/dl, non-smokers: 7.1 micrograms/dl, p less than 0.01) and lower in the drinkers than in the non-drinkers (drinkers: 4.6 micrograms/dl, non-drinkers: 7.3 micrograms/dl, p less than 0.01). The serum retinol level was not different by smoking habit but was higher in the drinkers than in the non-drinkers (drinkers: 80.4 micrograms/dl, non-drinkers: 67.0 micrograms/dl, p less than 0.01). Serum beta-carotene was higher in the group with a greater intake of vitamin A of vegetable origin (6.1 micrograms/dl) than in the group with a smaller intake of it (4.7 micrograms/dl) (p less than 0.01), but serum retinol was not different by the amount of vitamin A intake of animal food origin. To estimate the respective effects and interactions of the above factors on serum beta-carotene and retinol levels by adjusting for the confounding effects of age, serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride, analysis of covariance was performed. For serum beta-carotene, smoking habit (p less than 0.01), drinking habit (p less than 0.01) and the amount of vitamin A intake of vegetable food origin (p less than 0.05) had significant main effects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A randomized primary preventive trial in coronary heart disease: The oslo study

One thousand, two hundred thirty-two healthy, normotensive, but coronary high-risk men were selected for a 5-year randomized trial to assess if dietary control of hypercholesterolemia and cessation of cigarette smoking are effective in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease. The men included in the trial had serum cholesterol levels between 7.5 mmol/l (290 mg/dl) and 9.8 mmol/l (380 mg/dl), coronary risk score (based on cholesterol, smoking, and blood pressure) in the upper quartile of the distribution, and systolic blood pressure <150 mm Hg. The men in the intervention group were advised to stop smoking and to lower their blood lipids by dietary changes. On average, mean serum cholesterol concentration was 13% lower in the intervention group compared with the controls during the 5 years of the trial. Mean fasting serum triglycerides decreased by 20% in the intervention group compared with the control group. On the average, tobacco consumption was reduced about 45% in the intervention group compared to controls during the study. (Eighty percent of the men in both groups were daily cigarette smokers at the start of the study.) Diagnoses of events of cardiovascular disease during the 5 years were made blindly according to predefined criteria, by a diagnostic board not involved in the study. At the end of the observation time the incidence of myocardial infarction (fatal and nonfatal) and sudden death was 47% lower in the intervention group than in the controls (P = 0.028, 2-sided test). It is concluded that in healthy, coronary high-risk, middle-aged men, advice to change eating habits and to stop smoking significantly reduces the incidence of first events of myocardial infarction and sudden death.     

Predictors of falling cholesterol levels in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study

PURPOSE: To estimate 4-year change in serum total cholesterol levels in a population-based sample of older adults and identify independent predictors of cholesterol decline. METHODS: Prospective study of 2837 adults aged 65 years and older with serum cholesterol measured in 1992-1993 and 1996-1997. RESULTS: Mean serum cholesterol levels declined 6.3 mg/dl between the two examinations. Declines were greater in white (-7.3 mg/dl) than black (-1.4 mg/dl) participants and in those in good/excellent health (-0.9 mg/dl) vs. fair/poor health (-3.1 mg/dl; both p < 0.01). Factors associated with greater decline on multivariate analysis included age, male gender, and higher white cell count, albumin, and baseline cholesterol. Cholesterol levels declined 2.0 mg/dl per 6 year increment in baseline age and 6.8 mg/dl more in men than women after adjustment for other factors. C-reactive protein levels were unrelated to cholesterol change. CONCLUSION: Declining cholesterol levels were associated with male gender, advanced age, weight loss, and white blood cell count but not with C-reactive protein levels. The role of declining cholesterol synthesis, due to as yet undefined age-related changes or to cytokine-mediated reductions related to illness, should be examined to help clarify the mechanisms of the sometimes marked declines in cholesterol levels observed at advanced ages.     

Will lowering population levels of serum cholesterol affect total mortality? Expectations from the Honolulu Heart Program.

Major campaigns now underway to reduce the serum cholesterol levels of entire national populations have not given serious consideration to the high rates of noncardiovascular disease and death associated with low cholesterol levels (less than 190 mg/dl). To explore this problem, the relationships between serum cholesterol levels, measured in 1965-1968 in 7478 Japanese American men in Hawaii, and subsequent total and cause-specific mortality through 1985, were analyzed by multivariate Cox regression to control for potential confounders. Total mortality rates for 1648 deaths showed a U-shaped curve by baseline cholesterol level, with significant inverse trends (p less than 0.03) for deaths due to hemorrhagic stroke, all cancer, benign liver disease, chronic obstructive lung disease and "unknown cause". Only the inverse trends for cancer and benign liver disease showed flattening when 227 deaths in the first 5 years of follow-up were deleted from the analysis. Simulation models using three different strategies of cholesterol reduction in this cohort revealed that none of these approaches had any substantial impact on predicted total mortality over 15 years. However, the population-based approach might theoretically increase mortality for 60% of the cohort with baseline cholesterol levels less than 225 mg/dl.     

Influence of type and amount of dietary lipid on plasma lipid concentrations in endurance athletes

Changes in plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, and lipoprotein concentrations were assessed in three male endurance cyclists who consumed isoenergetic diets for 28-day periods in which carbohydrate, polyunsaturated fat, or saturated fat contributed about 50% of the daily energy intake. Dietary cholesterol was similar among the diets. Maximal aerobic capacity was maintained at 62 ml O2/(kg X min). Body weights were held within 3% of admission levels. The polyunsaturated fat diet significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced mean fasting plasma total cholesterol in comparison to the saturated fat and carbohydrate diets (160 versus 254 and 243 mg/dl, respectively). Similarly, the polyunsaturated fat diet depressed (p less than 0.05) mean plasma triglycerides relative to the saturated fat and carbohydrate diets (37 versus 62 and 79 mg/dl, respectively). No significant dietary effects were seen on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The observed changes in plasma total cholesterol were not significantly different than the values predicted by the Keys' equation, delta CHL = 1.35(2 delta S-delta P) + 1.5 delta Z. We conclude that under controlled conditions in which physical activity is constant l) dietary lipid differences influence fasting serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations among men with high energy expenditures, and 2) the Keys' equation gives useful predictions of changes in plasma total cholesterol among vigorous men consuming different types and amounts of dietary lipid.     

Existence of consistent hypo- and hyperresponders to dietary cholesterol in man

Hyper- and hyporesponsiveness of serum cholesterol to dietary cholesterol is an established concept in animals but not in man. The authors studied the stability of the individual response of serum cholesterol to dietary cholesterol in three controlled experiments in 1982. The subjects were volunteers from the general population living in or near Wageningen, the Netherlands. Each experiment had a low-cholesterol baseline period (121, 106, and 129 mg/day in experiments 1, 2, and 3, respectively) and a high-cholesterol test period (625, 673, and 989 mg/day). Duplicate portion analysis showed that dietary cholesterol was the only variable. The 94 healthy men and women who completed experiment 1 showed an increase (mean +/- standard deviation (SD] in serum cholesterol of 0.50 +/- 0.39 mmol/liter (19 +/- 15 mg/dl). Seventeen putative hyperresponders, defined by their response in experiment 1, were retested in experiments 2 and 3; they showed responses of 0.28 +/- 0.38 mmol/liter (11 +/- 15 mg/dl) and 0.82 +/- 0.35 mmol/liter (32 +/- 14 mg/dl), respectively. Fifteen hyporesponders, selected in experiment 1, showed responses in experiments 2 and 3 of 0.06 +/- 0.35 mmol/liter (2 +/- 14 mg/dl) and 0.47 +/- 0.26 mmol/liter (18 +/- 10 mg/dl), significantly lower than the corresponding values for hyperresponders. The standardized regression coefficient for individual responses in experiment 2 on those in experiment 1 was beta = 0.34 (p = 0.03, n = 32); the corresponding regression coefficient for experiment 3 and experiment 1 was 0.53 (p less than 0.01). After correction for intraindividual fluctuations the true responsiveness distribution was found to have a between-subject standard deviation of about 0.29 mmol/liter (11 mg/dl). This implies that if the mean response to a certain dietary cholesterol load amounts to e.g., 0.58 mmol/liter (22 mg/dl), then the 16% of subjects least susceptible to diet will experience a rise of only 0.29 mmol/liter (11 mg/dl) or less, while in the 16% of subjects most susceptible to diet, serum cholesterol will rise by 0.87 mmol/liter (34 mg/dl) or more. The authors conclude that modest differences in responsiveness of serum cholesterol to dietary cholesterol do exist in man, and that the wide scatter of responses observed in single experiments is largely due to chance fluctuations.     

Relation of serum total antioxidant status with metabolic risk factors in Korean adults

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation of total antioxidant status (TAS) to metabolic risk factors in Korean adults. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, serum lipids and fasting glucose were determined in 406 men and women. TAS was measured by using commercially available Randox kit. Serum TAS was significantly positively correlated with body weight (p=0.004), body mass index (BMI) (p=0.033), waist circumference (p=0.017), total cholesterol (p=0.038) and triglyceride (TG) (p<0.001). The mean TAS of hypertriglyceridemic subjects (TG ≥150 mg/dl) was significantly higher than that of subjects whose TG was lower than 150 mg/dl (p=0.001). When central obesity, TG, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose and blood pressure were considered as metabolic risk factors, TAS was shown to be elevated with increased number of metabolic risk factors (p=0.004). The positive association between TAS and a number of metabolic risk factors suggests that increased TAS may not always indicate one''s healthier condition. In order to help understand TAS as a marker of total antioxidant capacity in humans with various metabolic conditions, it is needed to clarify the factors affecting TAS in relation to changes in metabolic risk factors.     

Tea consumption. relationship to cholesterol, blood pressure, and coronary and total mortality.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS. The relation of tea to cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and mortality from coronary heart disease and all causes was studied in 9,856 men and 10,233 women without history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. All men and women 35-49 years of age from the county of Oppland (Norway) were invited to participate; the attendance rate was 90%. RESULTS. Mean serum cholesterol decreased with increasing tea consumption, the linear trend coefficient corresponded to a difference of 0.24 mmol/liter (9.3 mg/dl) in men and 0.15 mmol/liter (5.8 mg/dl) in women between drinkers of less than one cup and those of five or more cups/day, when other risk factors were taken into account. Systolic blood pressure was inversely related to tea with a difference between the same two tea groups of 2.1 mm in men and 3.5 mm in women. Altogether 396 men and 237 women died from all causes, and of these 141 and 18, respectively, died from coronary heart disease during the 12-year follow-up period. The mortality rate was higher (not statistically significant) among persons drinking no tea or less than one cup compared with persons drinking one or more cups/day. This applies to men and women and to coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. For men, the relative risk (one or more versus less than one cup) for coronary death from Cox regression was 0.64 (95% CI:0.38, 1.07).     

Coffee consumption and serum cholesterol: an epidemiological study in Belgium

In a Belgian population group of 15,954 male and 2116 female soldiers and their spouses the relationship between coffee drinking and serum cholesterol has been studied. A moderate but highly significant monotonic positive relationship between coffee drinking and both serum total and non-high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was observed in men (p less than 0.001) even when adjusted for the confounding effects of age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, and dietary fat and cholesterol intake. Men drinking at least three cups of coffee daily had a mean level of serum total cholesterol about 4 mg/dl and of non-HDL-cholesterol about 3 mg/dl higher than those who did not drink coffee. No significant effect of coffee drinking on HDL-cholesterol was observed in men. In women coffee-drinking did not influence any of the measured serum lipids.     

Effects of canola oil on serum lipids in humans

Previous work in this laboratory had shown in a pilot study that canola oil could lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels. Attempting to extend this work to a larger cohort over a longer period, a 4-month study using a 30 ml/day addendum of canola oil as the replacement of the edible oils in the usual diet was undertaken in 36 hypercholesterolemic and/or hypertriglyceridemic subjects. Serum low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) decreased from 173 +/- 9.0 to 160 +/- 10.0 mg/dl, p less than 0.025. Blood pressure, total cholesterol, and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) did not change significantly even though the HDL subfractions did, HDL2 decreasing and HDL3 increasing.