Dietary fat intake and early mortality patterns--data from The Malmö Diet and Cancer Study.
OBJECTIVE
Most current dietary guidelines encourage limiting relative fat intake to <30% of total daily energy, with saturated and trans fatty acids contributing no more than 10%. We examined whether total fat intake, saturated fat, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fat intake are independent risk factors for prospective all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality.


METHODS
Population-based, prospective cohort study.


METHODS
The Malmö Diet and Cancer Study was set in the city of Malmö, southern Sweden. A total of 28,098 middle-aged individuals participated in the study 1991-1996.


METHODS
Subjects were categorized by quartiles of relative fat intake, with the first quartile used as a reference point in estimating multivariate relative risks (RR; 95% CI, Cox's regression model). Adjustments were made for confounding by age and various lifestyle factors.


RESULTS
Women in the fourth quartile of total fat intake had a significantly higher RR of cancer mortality (RR 1.46; CI 1.04-2.04). A significant downwards trend was observed for cardiovascular mortality amongst men from the first to the fourth quartile (P=0.028). No deteriorating effects of high saturated fat intake were observed for either sex for any cause of death. Beneficial effects of a relatively high intake of unsaturated fats were not uniform.


CONCLUSIONS
With the exception of cancer mortality for women, individuals receiving more than 30% of their total daily energy from fat and more than 10% from saturated fat, did not have increased mortality. Current dietary guidelines concerning fat intake are thus generally not supported by our observational results.
Leosdottir
M
M
Department of Medicine, Lund University, University Hospital (UMAS), Malmö, Sweden. margret.leosdottir@med.lu.se
Nilsson
P M
PM
Nilsson
J-A
JA
Månsson
H
H
Berglund
G
G
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
D004041:Dietary Fats; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D004043:Dietary Fiber