Cholesterol, eggs raises heart risk in older people

Editor's note: This study is not a trial, which means that it does not reveal a cause and effect relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and eggs and increased risk of coronary heart disease. Regardless, it is important as always to have a nutritionally balanced diet.

A study intended to examine the effect of dietary fat, cholesterol and eggs on coronary cardiovascular disease suggests that consuming dietary fat does not increase risk of heart disease. 

The study showed no association between dietary fats and CVD risk. However, it did show that a high intake of cholesterol and eggs increased the risk drastically. 

An association between dietary fats and cholesterol and coronary cardiovascular disease has been established in middle-aged populations.  The current study was intended to examine the effect of dietary fat in older adults. 

Houston D.K. and colleagues from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC surveyed 1941 individuals for their dietary habits using an interviewer-administered 108-item food frequency questionnaire.   

In the study, CVD events were defined as confirmed heart attacks, coronary deaths, or strokes. During a 9-year follow-up, 203 cases of CVD were identified. 

In addition to the finding that dietary fats were not associated with CVD risk, the researchers found that intake of dietary cholesterol in the upper tertile was associated with 47 percent increased risk compared to that in the lower tertile. 

Those who ate more than three eggs per week were 68 percent more likely to suffer heart attack, coronary death or stroke than those who ate less than one per week. 

An analysis based on data of sub-groups revealed that only among type 2 diabetes, intakes of dietary cholesterol and egg consumption in the upper terile were associated with 3.66 times and 5.02 times higher risk of CVD respectively compared to those in the lower tertile. 

The study was reported in the March 23 2010 issue of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Jimmy Downs and editing by Rachel Stockton