Serum lipids, apoproteins and nutrient intake in rural Cretan boys consuming high-olive-oil diets

A high intake of olive oil has produced high levels of high-density and low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in short-term dietary trials. To investigate long-term effects of olive oil we have studied the diet and serum lipids of boys in Crete, where a high olive oil consumption is the norm. Seventy-six healthy rural Cretan boys aged 7–9 years were studied. The diet was assessed by a 2-day dietary recall. Blood was collected according to a standardized protocol and sera were analyzed in a rigidly standardized laboratory. The mean daily intake of energy was 11.0 MJ (2629 kcal). The intake of fat (45.0% of energy) and oleic acid (27.2% of energy) was high, and that of saturated fat low (10.0% of energy), reflecting a high consumption of olive oil. The high consumption of olive oil was confirmed by a high proportion of oleic-acid (27.1 %) in serum cholesteryl fatty acids. Mean concentration of serum total cholesterol was 4.42 mmol 1−1 (171 mg dl−1 ), of HDL-cholesterol 1.40 mmol 1−1 (54 mg dl−1), of serum triglycerides 0.59 mmol I−1 (52 mg dl−1 ), of apo-A1 1210 mg 1−1 and of LDL apo-B 798 mg 1−1. The body mass index of the Cretan boys (18.2 kg m−2) was on average 2 kg m−2 higher than that of boys from other countries. Contrary to our expectation, the Cretan boys did not show a more favourable serum lipoprotein pattern than boys from more westernized countries studied previously using the same protocol. Our hypothesis that a typical, olive-oil-rich Cretan diet causes a relatively high HDL- to total cholesterol ratio is not supported by the present findings

Familial Aggregation of Lipids and Lipoproteins in Families Ascertained through Random and Nonrandom Probands in the Minnesota Lipid Research Clinic Family Study

The familial aggregation of lipids [total cholesterol (CH) and triglyceride (TG)] and lipoproteins [high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL)] was investigated in families ascertained through both random and nonrandom probands in the Minnesota Lipid Research Clinic Family Study. Nonrandom proband ascertainment was based on single selection through truncation for hyperlipidemia at an earlier screening. A path model was used to investigate the nature of familial resemblance using appropriate adjustments for ascertainment and to determine whether random and hyperlipidemic samples are heterogeneous with regard to the multifactorial model. The results suggest that parameter estimates are consistent with those from previous studies in which only random families were used and that random and nonrandom samples are homogeneous with regard to the path model for CH and LDL. However, for TG and HDL the random and hyperlipidemic samples are significantly heterogeneous. This heterogeneity would be observed if familial hypertriglyceridemia and/or familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia segregates predominantly in the hyperlipidemic rather than in the random sample, as one might expect. Author 5: D.C. Rao, Washington University School of Medicin