Plasma lipid and lipoprotein responsiveness to dietary fat and cholesterolin premenopausal African American and white women

Background: Premenopausal African American women have a 2-3 times greater i ncidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) than do white women. The plasma li pid responsiveness to dietary fat, which may be associated with CHD, has no t been adequately studied in premenopausal African American or white women. Objective: The objective of our study was to compare the effect of diet on fasting plasma lipids and lipoproteins and postprandial lipemia in premenop ausal African American and white women. Design: Thirteen African American and 9 whits healthy premenopausal women w ere fed a low-fat. high-fiber diet and a high-fat, low-fiber diet for 3 wk each in a randomized crossover design. Fasting plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and the 24-h plasma triacylglycerol response to a standard fatty test meal were measured at the end of each dietary period. Results: Plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were higher after the high-fat, low-fiber diet in both white and African American women (P < 0.0001). The 24-h area under the plasma triacylglycerol curve after the tes t meal was lower after the lowfat diet than after the high-fat diet (P < 0. 04). Conclusions: African American and white women had lower fasting plasma tota l and LDL-cholesterol concentrations and less postprandial lipemia after th e low-fat than the high-far diet. Dirts low in total and saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber may reduce the risk of CHD by lowering fastin g plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations and by reducing the lipem ic response to fatty meals.