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Departments of
* Nutrition and
Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston MA 02115 and
** Centro Centroamericano de Población, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica
3To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hcampos{at}hsph.harvard.edu.
Palm oil and soybean oil are the 2 most widely used cooking oils in the world. Palm oil is consumed mainly in developing countries, where morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) are on the rise. Although claims about adverse or protective effects of these oils are commonly made, there are no epidemiologic studies assessing the association between these oils and cardiovascular disease endpoints. We examined whether consumption of palm oil relative to soybean oil and other unsaturated oils (predominantly sunflower) is associated with myocardial infarction (MI) in Costa Rica. The cases (n = 2111) were survivors of a first acute MI and were matched to randomly selected population controls (n = 2111). Dietary intake was assessed with a validated semiquantitative FFQ. Adipose tissue profiles of essential fatty acids were assessed to validate cooking oil intake and found to be consistent with self-reported major oils used for cooking. The data were analyzed using conditional logistic regression. Palm oil users were more likely to have an MI than users of soybean oil [odds ratio (OR) = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.081.63] or other cooking oils (OR = 1.23; CI: 0.991.52), but they did not differ from users of soybean oil with a high trans-fatty acid content (OR = 1.14; CI: 0.841.56). These data suggest that as currently used in Costa Rica, and most likely in many other developing countries, the replacement of palm oil with a polyunsaturated nonhydrogenated vegetable oil would reduce the risk of MI.
KEY WORDS: fatty acids palm oil soybean oil myocardial infarction cardiovascular disease
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U. Colon-Ramos, A. C Lindsay, R. Monge-Rojas, M. L Greaney, H. Campos, and K. E Peterson Translating research into action: a case study on trans fatty acid research and nutrition policy in Costa Rica Health Policy Plan., November 1, 2007; 22(6): 363 - 374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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U. Colon-Ramos, A. Baylin, and H. Campos The Relation between Trans Fatty Acid Levels and Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction Does Not Hold at Lower Levels of Trans Fatty Acids in the Costa Rican Food Supply J. Nutr., November 1, 2006; 136(11): 2887 - 2892. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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