HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sun, Q. Articles by Hu, F. B Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sun, Q. Articles by Hu, F. B Agricola Articles by Sun, Q. Articles by Hu, F. B

Plasma and erythrocyte biomarkers of dairy fat intake and risk of ischemic heart disease^1,2,3

¹ From the Departments of Nutrition (QS, HC, and FBH) and of Epidemiology (QS and FBH), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, and the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (JM and FBH)

Background: The relation between dairy product intake and the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains controversial.

Objective: We aimed to explore biomarkers of dairy fat intake in plasma and erythrocytes and to assess the hypothesis that higher concentrations of these biomarkers are associated with a greater risk of IHD in US women.

Design: Among 32 826 participants in the Nurses' Health Study who provided blood samples in 1989–1990, 166 incident cases of IHD were ascertained between baseline and 1996. These cases were matched with 327 controls for age, smoking, fasting status, and date of blood drawing.

Results: Among controls, correlation coefficients between average dairy fat intake in 1986–1990 and 15:0 and trans 16:1n–7 content were 0.36 and 0.30 for plasma and 0.30 and 0.32 for erythrocytes, respectively. In multivariate analyses, with control for age, smoking, and other risk factors of IHD, women with higher plasma concentrations of 15:0 had a significantly higher risk of IHD. The multivariate-adjusted relative risks (95% CI) from the lowest to highest tertile of 15:0 concentrations in plasma were 1.0 (reference), 2.18 (1.20, 3.98), and 2.36 (1.16, 4.78) (P for trend = 0.03). Associations for other biomarkers were not significant.

Conclusions: Plasma and erythrocyte contents of 15:0 and trans 16:1n–7 can be used as biomarkers of dairy fat intake. These data suggest that a high intake of dairy fat is associated with a greater risk of IHD.

Key Words: Dairy fat • plasma • blood cells • coronary disease • women

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. C. Elwood, D. I. Givens, A. D. Beswick, A. M. Fehily, J. E. Pickering, and J. Gallacher The Survival Advantage of Milk and Dairy Consumption: an Overview of Evidence from Cohort Studies of Vascular Diseases, Diabetes and Cancer J. Am. Coll. Nutr., December 1, 2008; 27(6): 723S - 734S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Elwood, A. Fehily, J. Pickering, and I. Givens Pentadecanoic acid (15:0), milk, and ischemic heart disease Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2008; 87(5): 1540 - 1541. [Full Text] [PDF]