American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 19, 232-236, Copyright © 1966 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Effect of Cholesterol-Lowering Diet on Production of Adrenal Cortical Hormones in Man

¹ From the Department of Internal Medicine, Veterans Administration Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa

Twenty-three men were placed on a cholesterol-lowering diet for a period of three months and their 17-ketosteroid (17-KS) and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) excretion rates studied before and after the diet. In the group of fifteen subjects who succeeded in lowering their serum cholesterol level, no change in 17-KS excretion rates was observed. However, there was a statistically significant decrease in the average excretion rate of 17-OHCS (P=0.02). Also, when compared to a control group of forty-three men, a significant number in the experimental (cholesterol-lowering diet) group of twenty-three subjects showed an increase in their 17-KS to 17-OHCS ratio. Although an increase in the 17-KS to 17-OHCS ratio is interpreted as favorable, the magnitude of these changes observed in the present study were not large enough to be considered physiologically important. Therefore, under these conditions, lowering of the serum cholesterol level by dietary means does not appear to adversely affect human adrenal cortex function, and might possibly influence it favorably.