DIET AND PLASMA-LIPIDS IN WOMEN .1. MACRONUTRIENTS AND PLASMA TOTAL AND LOW-DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL IN WOMEN - THE FRAMINGHAM NUTRITION STUDIES

This study examined relationships between diet and plasma total and LD L cholesterol levels in a population based sample of 695 premenopausal and 727 postmenopausal women participating in the Framingham Offsprin g/Spouse Study. Regression analyses controlled for age, caloric intake , apolipoprotein E isoform type, estrogen use, and important CVD risk factors indicated that plasma total and LDL cholesterol levels were di rectly associated with consumption of saturated fat and inversely asso ciated with total calorie intake. In contrast, dietary cholesterol was not a predictor of plasma total or LDI, cholesterol levels. Total cho lesterol levels were also directly associated with total fat, oleic ac id, and animal fat, and inversely associated with carbohydrate intake. Stepwise regressions with key nutrients indicated that saturated fat was consistently associated with total and LDL cholesterol levels in F ramingham women. These analyses suggest that diet explains 2% of the v ariability in these lipid levels in a cross sectional sample of women; the full model explains 22-27%.