[Effect of the Mediterranean diet on fasting concentrations of activated factor VII in healthy persons].
OBJECTIVE
Many clinical and epidemiologic studies suggest that activated factor VII may be involved in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease. Our objective was to determine the effect of a Mediterranean diet on plasma levels of activated factor VII in comparison to a low-fat diet and a diet rich in saturated fat.


METHODS
The study population comprised 16 healthy normolipemic men who consumed 3 different diets in consecutive 28-day periods. The first diet was rich in saturated fat (38% calories as fat, 20% saturated fat), the second was a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet (28% calories as fat, 10% saturated fat), and the third was enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids (38% calories as fat, 22% monounsaturated fat). At the end of each period, plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, total triglycerides, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, and glucose were measured. Activated factor VII was determined with a coagulation assay.


RESULTS
The diet rich in saturated fat was associated with a significant increase in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein AI, and apolipoprotein B in comparison to the other 2 diets. There were no significant differences between the carbohydrate-rich diet and the Mediterranean diet in any of the lipid parameters. The Mediterranean diet decreased plasma levels of factor VIIa in comparison to the diet rich in saturated fat (34.6+/-15.3 mU/mL vs 101.5+/-19.2 mU/mL; P<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
In comparison to the diet rich in saturated fat or the high-carbohydrates diet, the Mediterranean diet decreased plasma concentrations of activated factor VII in healthy young men. This phenomenon may constitute another protective mechanism of the Mediterranean diet in reducing cardiovascular risk.
Gómez
Purificación
P
Unidad de Lípidos y Arteriosclerosis, Servicio de Medicina Intern, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, Spain.
Fernández de la Puebla
Rafael A
RA
Castro
Pedro
P
López-Miranda
José
J
Marín
Carmen
C
Fuentes
Francisco
F
Pérez-Martínez
Pablo
P
Velasco
Francisco
F
Moreno
Juan A
JA
Torres
Antonio
A
Pérez-Jiménez
Francisco
F
D000328:Adult; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005167:Factor VII / Q000032:analysis*; D005215:Fasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005167:Factor VII