Total fat, trans fat raise risk of ischemic stroke

High intakes of total fat and trans fat, which is found high in processed food and fried food, may increase risk of ischemic stroke, according to a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010.

The study showed those who had the highest daily intake of dietary fat were 40 percent more likely to suffer ischemic stroke than those who had the lowest intake.

Additionally, Sirin Yaemsiri and colleagues from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill found the highest intake of trans fat was associated with a 30 percent increase in the risk of stroke caused by blockages in the brain compared to the lowest intake.

Ischemic stroke is caused by blockages in blood vessels in or leading to the brain, according to a press release by the American heart Association.

Evidence has already emerged to suggest that both total fat and trans fat are implicated in the development of diabetes.

According to the Harvard epidemiologists and nutritionists, trans fat as a risk factor is involved in an estimated 100,000 deaths from heart disease each year in the United States.

The Women's Health Initiative Observational Study of 87,230 aged 50 to 79 was meant to examine the associations between different fats and different subtypes of ischemic stroke in postmenopausal women who are known to be at higher risk for stroke than men of a similar age.

Dietary information was obtained through a food frequency questionnaire when the women entered the study and were followed for 7.6 years on average.  During the follow-up, 1,049 cases of ischemic strokes occurred.

Women in the top quartile for total fat intake had an average intake of 86 grams of total fat per day compared to 26 grams per day for those in the lowest quartile.  In the study, intake of 7 grams of trans fat per day was considered the highest intake while intake of 1 gram per day was considered the lowest.

Trans fat are found in many foods, particularly in fried foods such as French fries, doughnuts, baked goods like pastries, pie crusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers and stick margarine and shortenings.

It is not news that trans fat may increase risk of stroke.

One study published their study in the Jul-Aug 2007 issue of Acta médica portuguesa found that intake of total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat were associated with reduced risk of ischemic stroke of both genders while trans fatty acids were linked to increased risk of ischemic stroke in Caucasian adults aged 44 years or older.

Monteiro I. and Vaz Almeid MD, authors of the study, found also that "Intake of oleic and linolenic fatty acids only had significant protection in women while intake of all n-3 fatty acids, dodecohexanoic acid in particular, had a significant protective effect in both sexes. All the n-6 fatty acids and arachidonic fatty acids also had an inverse association in women but they showed a tendency to be directly associated with ischemic stroke in men."

By Jimmy Downs