Study of the impact of trans fatty acids from ruminants on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary rTFA on plasma LDL-C, HDL-C and other cardiovascular disease risk factors in women covering a wide range of LDL-C values. In a double-blind, randomized controlled crossover study, 61 healthy women aged 19 to 70 years, LDL-C ranging from 1.6 to 5.5 mmol/l were fed two isoenergetic diets lasting 4 weeks each: 1- high in rTFA (4.8 g/2500 kcal, 1.7% of daily energy) and 2- a control diet low in rTFA (1.7 g/2500 kcal, 0.6% energy). Intake of rTFA had no impact on blood pressure, total plasma cholesterol, LDL-C, apolipoprotein B-100, B-48 and A-I and TG levels but was associated with a small yet significant reduction in plasma HDL-C concentrations compared with the control diet (1.64 ± 0.37 vs. 1.69 ± 0.37 mmol/l, −2.8%, P=0.004). There was no change in the apoB/AI ratio whereas the total C/HDL-C ratio showed a small but almost significant increase after the rTFA diet (+2.1%, P=0.053). rTFA had no impact on plasma CETP concentrations and multivariate analyses indicated that only baseline alcohol consumption predicted the change in plasma HDL-C with dietary rTFA. These results indicate that high intakes of dietary rTFA may have a small HDL-lowering effect in women. The cardiovascular impact of such change is unsure, given the magnitude of the change in HDL and the lack of change in all other risk factors. Financial support: Dairy Farmers of Canada, Provigo/Loblaws