Abstract MP004: Dietary Intakes of Saturated Fat and Cardiovascular Disease: Results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Background: Prospective studies have shown generally null associations between overall saturated fat consumption and CVD events. Understanding whether food sources of saturated fatty acids (SF) influence these relationships may help explain inconsistencies and provide insights as to underlying mechanisms. Objective and Hypothesis: We investigated associations between SF consumption from different major dietary sources (SF from each of meat, dairy, fats/oils, and plants) and CVD incidence in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We hypothesized that associations between SF and CVD incidence would be influenced by the food sources delivering SF. Methods: Participants 45–84 years of age at baseline (n = 5,209) were followed between 2000 and 2007. Dietary intake was assessed using a 120-item food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CIs for incident CVD (275 cases) across categories of energy-adjusted intakes of SF by food source. Energy density substitution models were used to estimate the effect of substituting a percentage of energy intake from a specific SF source for the same amount of SF from another source. All models were adjusted for demographics, behavioral and dietary confounders such as intakes of fruit and vegetables, fiber, trans-fat and PUFA. Results: After multivariable adjustment, each 1-g greater intake of meat SF corresponded to 5% higher risk of CVD (HR [CI] per 1-g: 1.05 [1.01– 1.10]). In contrast, each 1-g greater intake of dairy SF intake corresponded to 4% lower risk of CVD (HR [CI] per 1-g: 0.96 [0.93– 0.99]). Substituting 1% of energy from meat SF with energy from dairy SF was associated with a 14% reduction in CVD risk (HR [CI]: 0.86 [0.78–0.95]). The replacements of energy from meat SF with fats/oils SF or with plant SF did not show statistically significant impacts on relative estimates of CVD risk (HR [CI]: 0.93 [0.83–1.05] and 0.93 [0.59 to 1.46], respectively), and neither intake of fats/oils SF nor intake of plant SF was independently associated with CVD risk. Conclusion: These findings suggest that associations between SF and CVD may depend on known differences in type of saturated fatty acids contained in specific food sources or other non-SF constituents in these sources.