October 3, 2003
No Link Between Fat, Stroke Risk
CHICAGO --- Unlike its scientifically established relationship
to heart disease, dietary fat does not seem to be associated with
risk for stroke, according to an article in the Oct. 4 issue of
the British Medical Journal.
Ka He, instructor in preventive medicine at the Feinberg School
of Medicine at Northwestern University, and colleagues at the Harvard
School of Public Health, followed almost 44,000 healthy middle-aged
men for 14 years to examine the association between intake of total
fat, specific types of fat and cholesterol and the risk for stroke.
They assessed dietary intake by using questionnaires that included
a comprehensive survey of diet, lifestyle and family history.
After adjusting for age, smoking and other factors that could
affect study results, He and co-researchers found no evidence that
the amount or type of dietary fat affects the risk for developing
stroke.
They also evaluated stroke risk according to consumption of selected
foods rich in fat or cholesterol, including red meat, high-fat
dairy products, nuts and eggs and found no significant link with
stroke.
In 725 documented new cases of strokes during the follow-up among
the men in the study, including 455 ischemic strokes, 125 hemorrhagic
strokes and 145 strokes of unknown type, there was no association
found between intakes of total fat, animal fat, vegetable fat,
saturated fat, mono-, poly- or trans-unsaturated fat or cholesterol,
he noted.
“Previous studies have shown that saturated fat intake
is positively related to carotid artery wall thickness, a marker
of atherosclerosis and a potential risk for stroke. Polyunsaturated
fat intake is inversely associated with this marker,” He
said.
Although ischemic heart disease and stroke share many of the
same risk factors, the association of blood cholesterol with stroke
remains controversial, the authors said.
“Our study indicates that dietary fat may not be a strong
predictor of stroke in men. Clearly, more research is needed,” he
said.
The study was conducted at Harvard. He recently joined the preventive
medicine faculty at the Feinberg School. |