Moderately elevated plant sterol levels are associated with reduced cardiovascular risk--the LASA study.
Functional foods with supplementation of plant sterols are already used by millions of people. However, at the same time it is current scientific thinking that elevation of plant sterols in the circulation causes coronary heart disease. Therefore, this study aimed to define the risk for coronary heart disease associated with moderately high plant sterol plasma levels in a cohort of elderly. In this study, we evaluated the association between plant sterols and coronary heart disease in a cohort of 1242 subjects older than 65 years, participating at the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Concentrations of sitosterol, campesterol, brassicasterol and stigmasterol were assessed using highly sensitive and specific gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion-monitoring. Plant sterol concentrations (and their ratios to cholesterol) were slightly, however, significantly lower in patients with coronary heart disease. Moreover, high plasma concentrations of a marker plant sterol, sitosterol, were associated with a markedly reduced risk for coronary heart disease (OR 0.78, CI 0.62-0.98, p<0.05). In contrast neither plant stanols (sitostanol or campestanol) nor the cholesterol synthesis markers (lathosterol, lanosterol and desmosterol) nor their ratios to cholesterol were significantly different in the study groups. These data suggest that plant sterols could have neutral or even protective effects on development of coronary heart disease, which have to be confirmed in interventional trials.
Fassbender
Klaus
K
Department of Neurology, University Clinic of the Saarland, Kirrberger Str., D-68421 Homburg, Germany. Electronic address: Klaus.fassbender@uniklinikum-saarland.de.
Lütjohann
Dieter
D
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: dieter.luetjohann@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Dik
Miranda G
MG
EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bremmer
Marijke
M
EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
König
Jochem
J
Department of Statistics, University Clinic of the Saarland, Germany.
Walter
Silke
S
Department of Neurology, University Clinic of the Saarland, Kirrberger Str., D-68421 Homburg, Germany.
Liu
Yang
Y
Department of Neurology, University Clinic of the Saarland, Kirrberger Str., D-68421 Homburg, Germany.
Letièmbre
Maryse
M
Department of Neurology, University Clinic of the Saarland, Kirrberger Str., D-68421 Homburg, Germany.
von Bergmann
Klaus
K
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany.
Jonker
Cees
C
EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D010840:Phytosterols / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012855:Sitosterols / Q000097:blood*
D010840:Phytosterols; D012855:Sitosterols; C003535:campestanol; C025473:gamma-sitosterol; D002784:Cholesterol; C021255:stigmastanol