title: An ecological study for Sri Lanka about health effects of coconut.
abstract: An ecological correlation study was conducted to determine the association between consumption of coconut products and cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths in Sri Lanka. Data on coconut consumption patterns from 1961 to 2006 were abstracted from the FAO database, and mortality data from reports of the Department of Census and Statistics, and UN databases. Correlational and regression analyses were carried out. There was no increase in the per capita consumption of coconut products from 1961 to 2006 (range 54.1-76.2kg/ capita/year). The CVD death rates and the proportionate mortality rate due to CVD increased from 1961 to 2006. CVD death rates were significantly associated with per capita GDP, percentage of urban population, and elderly dependency ratio but not consumption of coconut products after adjusting for the other variables (R2=0.94). The results do not provide evidence at the population level that consumption of coconut products increases mortality due to cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. lathika.athauda@gmail.com.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Athauda
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wickremasinghe
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kumarendran
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kasturiratne
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D000074263:Coconut Oil; D003059:Cocos; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D010938:Plant Oils; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013188:Sri Lanka; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D010938:Plant Oils; D000074263:Coconut Oil