lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Worksite nutrition education can lower total cholesterol levels and promote weight loss among police department employees.

Briley ME, Montgomery DH, Blewett J.

Department of Human Ecology at the University of Texas, Austin 78712.

Individuals who work in law enforcement careers are often subjected to stress that can result in health and emotional disorders. Many police departments have begun to offer wellness programs to support their employees. This pilot study designed and implemented a nutrition education component for an existing police department wellness program. Twenty-eight subjects completed the 12-month study that included nutrition counseling, seminars on nutrition and eating behaviors, and monitoring of weight and blood lipid levels. There was a significant group trend for decreased weight and lower total cholesterol levels. Results of the study led to the development of health policy standards for the Austin (Tex) Police Department. Wellness programs that involve registered dietitians can result in weight loss and lower cholesterol levels for employees in high-stress occupations as well as changes in departmental policy.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1430725&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-11.matches:
lower cholesterol
Opportunities for control of coronary heart disease in Australia.

McElduff P, Dobson AJ, Jamrozik K, Hobbs MS.

Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Newcastle, New South Wales. patrickm mail.newcastle.edu.au

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the number of coronary events that could be prevented in Australia each year by the use of preventive and therapeutic strategies targeted to subgroups of the population based on their levels of risk and need. METHODS: Estimates of risk reduction from the published literature, prevalence estimates of elevated risk factor levels from the 1995 National Health Survey and treatment levels from the Australian collaborating centres in the World Health Organization's MONICA Project were used to calculate numbers of coronary events preventable among men and women aged 35-79 years in Australia. RESULTS: Approximately 14,000 coronary events could be avoided each year if the mean level of cholesterol in the population was reduced by 0.5 mmol/L, smoking prevalence was halved and prevalence of physical inactivity was reduced to 25%. This represents a reduction in coronary events of about 40%. Even with less optimistic targets, a reduction of 20% could be attained, while the achievement of some internationally recommended targets could lead to almost 50% reduction. In the short term, aggressive medical treatment of people with elevated levels of risk factors and established coronary disease offers the greatest opportunity for reducing coronary events. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive approach to reduce levels of behavioural and biological risk factors and improve the use of effective treatment could lead to a large reduction in coronary event rates. In the long term, primary prevention--especially to reduce smoking, lower cholesterol levels and increase exercise--has the potential to reduce the population levels of risk and hence contain the national cost of coronary disease.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11297296&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
The influence of dietary olive oil and margarine on aortic cholesterol accumulation in cholesterol-fed rabbits maintained at similar plasma cholesterol level.

Mortensen A, Espensen PL, Hansen BF, Ibsen P.

National Food Agency of Denmark, Institute of Toxicology, Soborg.

The present study compares the atherogenicity of a standard diet and diets with 10% olive oil or 10% margarine added, in rabbits maintained at a mean plasma cholesterol level of about 20 mM for 13 weeks. Each group consisted of 15 animals. The distribution of cholesterol in plasma between VLDL, IDL, LDL and HDL was similar in the 3 groups. The thoracic aortic cholesterol accumulation was 16.6 +/- 1.6, 11.4 +/- 1.0 (P < 0.05) and 12.6 +/- 1.7 (P > 0.05) nmol/mg wet weight for the group receiving standard diet, diet with 10% olive oil added and diet with 10% margarine added, respectively. There was no significant difference between groups in the occurrence of the atherosclerotic changes in the proximal and distal parts of coronary arteries, abdominal aorta and renal arteries. The occurrence of atherosclerotic changes in the pulmonary arteries was equal in the groups receiving standard diet and diet with 10% margarine added while it was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the group receiving diet with 10% olive oil added. The atherosclerotic changes at the aortic orifice of coronary arteries were quanticated morphometrically and were most severe in the group on the standard diet. The results indicate a comparable atherogenic effect of 10% olive oil or margarine addition to standard diet on development of atherosclerosis in rabbits maintained at a similar plasma cholesterol level. The study also suggests that supplementation of olive oil or margarine to standard rabbit diet leads to lower cholesterol accumulation in the thoracic aorta compared with standard diet, an effect not modulated by changes in plasma cholesterol concentrations.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1466648&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Plasma fibrinogen: its relationship with oral contraception, the menopause, and hormone replacement therapy.

Lee AJ, Lowe GD, Smith WC, Tunstall-Pedoe H.

Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.

PIP: Plasma fibrinogen was assayed in 4837 plasma specimens from women who took part in the Scottish Heart Health Study and the Scottish WHO MONICA survey. These samples included 13 women taking oral contraceptives, 210 women who had taken the pill, 2192 women still menstruating, and 2619 post-menopausal women. 66 women were taking hormone replacement medications (HRT). Fibrinogen levels did not differ significantly between current and former pill users. Menstruating women also had lower fibrinogen levels than postmenopausal women. The 66 women taking HRT, after than women not taking hormone replacement therapy, and had lower total cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index. Former oral contraceptive users had significantly lower fibrinogen than never users, even when age and smoking were controlled (p 0.001). Pill users also had significantly lower cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index than never users, and a higher proportion of smokers. Premenopausal women had lower total and HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index than postmenopausal women. Some of these results could be accounted for by selection of healthier women for either oral contraception or HRT.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1490307&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Estimates of nutrient intake from a food frequency questionnaire: the 1987 National Health Interview Survey.

Block G, Subar AF.

University of California, Berkeley 94720.

Nutrient intake data are reported from a 60-item food frequency questionnaire administered in the 1987 National Health Interview Survey to a representative sample of US adults 18 to 99 years of age (n = 22,080). These data provide for the first time an estimate of the distribution of usual nutrient intakes in a national probability sample. For several nutrients, 10% to 25% of respondents may habitually consume substantially less than the Recommended Dietary Allowance, despite apparently adequate group means. Hispanics reported higher energy and carbohydrate intakes and a lower percentage of energy from fat than blacks or whites (35.6%, 38.4%, and 38.7% of energy from fat for Hispanics, blacks, and whites, respectively.) Whites had lower cholesterol intake than the other two groups, and blacks had a higher intake of sweets. Alcohol intake was lower among women and persons older than 65 years, but no other differences in alcohol intake emerged. Use of adjustment factors improved nutrient intake estimates from this shortened questionnaire to levels similar to those obtained from other national dietary surveys. The nutrient intake data from this research can be used to compare demographic subgroups and to describe the mean and distribution of nutrient intake. Furthermore, this research provides national reference data to investigators who use this or related questionnaires in nutrition research.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1640041&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Cholesterol treatment practices of primary care physicians.

Hyman DJ, Maibach EW, Flora JA, Fortmann SP.

Baylor College of Medicine.

The active involvement of primary care physicians is necessary in the diagnosis and treatment of elevated blood cholesterol. Empirical evidence suggests that primary care physicians generally initiate dietary and pharmacological treatment at threshold values higher than is currently recommended. To determine current treatment thresholds and establish factors that distinguish physicians who are more likely to initiate therapy at lower cholesterol values, 119 primary care physicians in four northern California communities were surveyed. Data collection included their demographic factors, treatment of hypothetical patients, self-efficacy regarding counseling patients about cholesterol reduction and personal health behaviors, outcome expectations, and cholesterol knowledge and attitudes. Results indicated that 59 percent of respondents would not start dietary treatment on a middle-aged female patient with a cholesterol of 215 milligrams per deciliter (mg per dl). Only 44 percent of respondents indicated that they would initiate pharmacological therapy for a middle-aged man with a cholesterol of 276 mg per dl. Logistic regression models were used to determine characteristics that influenced dietary and pharmacological treatment practices. Younger physicians, those who had had their own cholesterol checked, and those who personally ate a low-fat diet, were more likely to recommend diet therapy to patients with modest elevations of cholesterol. Willingness to use lipid lowering medications at more marked elevations was associated only with increased self-efficacy regarding use of drugs to lower cholesterol. These results indicate that physicians' personal health behaviors and self-efficacy should be addressed in interventions to modify cholesterol-related practice behavior.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1641441&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Influence of protein/lipid ratio of diet on cholesterol synthesis and esterification in eel liver.

Burgos C, Castillo M, Rodriguez-Vico F, Zafra MF, Garcia-Peregrin E.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Granada, Spain.

The effect of protein/lipid ratio of diets on hepatic cholesterol has been studied in European eel and correlated with changes in the main enzymes responsible for cholesterol metabolism. The growth rates of animals were similar when dietary lipid level was 12%. However, a 25% protein/20% fat (25/20) diet produced a decrease in the weight gain when compared with that observed after feeding a 30/20 diet. At low fat level (12%), the decrease in dietary protein produced a little but significant increase in total cholesterol, mainly due to the esterified form. On the contrary, a 25/20 diet produced a lower cholesterol accumulation than that a 30/20 diet. These results suggest that a minimal protein level was required for an optimal utilization of dietary fat for cholesterol deposition in liver. No significant differences were found in 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, mevalonate kinase, mevalonate 5-phosphate kinase and mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate decarboxylase when compared the effect of 40/12 and 30/12 diets as well as that of 30/20 and 25/20 diets, suggesting that differences in hepatic cholesterol content were not due to differences in cholesterol synthesis but in the transport to the liver. Changes in the esterified cholesterol were parallel to those found in acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase, corroborating the main role of this enzyme in the regulation of hepatic cholesterol esterification.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7684279&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Effect of dietary fat on glomerular lipid composition and angiotensin II receptors.

Awad AB, Brown GP, Fink CS, Helinski JD.

Nutrition Program, State University of New York at Buffalo, 14214.

Nutritional factors are major etiologic determinants which may affect the incidence or severity of hypertension. Since angiotensin II (Ang II) has a role in some forms of hypertension, the influence of dietary lipid composition on glomerular lipid content and on Ang II receptor parameters was determined. Three groups of rats were fed diets containing 14% by weight of 1) beef fat (saturated fatty acid rich), 2) safflower oil (n-6 fatty acid rich), or 3) fish oil (n-3 fatty acid rich), each supplemented with 2% corn oil. A fourth group of rats was fed rat chow which contained 6.5% fat. At the end of 7 weeks, the rats were sacrificed, the kidneys removed, and renal glomeruli isolated using a sieving technique. Feeding diets which varied in the quantity and composition of fatty acids altered glomerular fatty acid composition of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids and the unsaturation indices of glomeruli. The cholesterol content, but not the phospholipid content, was decreased in glomeruli of animals fed the high fat diets. This resulted in a lower cholesterol/phospholipid ratio, indicative of an increase in membrane fluidity. Glomerular binding was determined using 125I-Ang II in a radioreceptor assay. Binding was proportional to glomerular protein and was time dependent. Receptor affinity (Ka) and number were determined by Scatchard analysis of binding inhibition data. Glomerular Ka was significantly lower for animals fed the rat chow as compared to the semisynthetic diets. There was no significant difference in the concentration of Ang II receptors in glomeruli of animals fed the different diets. The data indicate that the induced alteration in glomerular lipid composition is associated with alteration in the binding affinity of glomerular Ang II receptors.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8007446&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-24.matches:
lower cholesterol
Effects of inhibitors of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase on coenzyme Q and dolichol biosynthesis.

Appelkvist EL, Edlund C, Low P, Schedin S, Kalen A, Dallner G.

Clinical Research Center, Huddinge Hospital, Karolinska Institutet.

Inhibitors of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase are used clinically to decrease blood levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients. However, little is known about the possible effects of these inhibitors on dolichol and cholesterol synthesis. Oral administration of mevinolin to rats was found here to decrease dolichol, dolichyl-P and coenzyme Q levels in the heart and skeletal muscle and to increase the hepatic dolichol level while decreasing the coenzyme Q content in this same organ. The amounts of dolichyl-P decreased in heart and muscle and increased in brain. Intraperitoneal administration also affected the levels of these lipids. The concentrations of blood lipids were not modified in the same manner as tissue lipids. Analysis of individual enzyme activities and of incorporation of [3H]acetate into various lipids of liver and brain slices demonstrated that both up- and down-regulation of different proteins occur in various tissues, resulting in modifications in lipid synthesis. Hypercholesterolemic patients were found to have high blood coenzyme Q levels, which are decreased upon pravastatin treatment, although they are still above control values. It appears that these HMG-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors do not selectively lower cholesterol levels, but that they also modify the dolichol and coenzyme Q content and synthesis both in the liver and various other tissues.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8241713&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol



lower-cholesterol-11.matches:
lower cholesterol
High prevalence and suboptimal treatment of risk factors in Greek coronary patients.

Rallidis LS, Zolindaki MG, Chatziioakimidis VK, Velissaridou AH, Konstantellou ES, Papasteriadis EG.

Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nikea, Piraeus, Greece. rallidis x-treme.gr

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the current clinical practice in relation to secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in a general district hospital in Greece. METHODS and RESULTS: A total of 819 consecutive patients ( < 75 years) with a history of myocardial infarction (> 6 months) was recruited from the outpatient cardiology clinic. All patients were interviewed and blood was taken for lipids and glycosylated haemoglobin measurements. Thirty-one percent of the patients were obese (body mass index > or = 30 kg/m2), 36% smoked cigarettes, 25% were diabetic and 36% were treated for hypertension. Reported prophylactic medication was aspirin 89%, beta-blockers 61%, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors 33% and hypolipidaemic drugs 28%. Of those taking hypolipidaemic drugs 21% had achieved LDL cholesterol < 115 mg/dl while in total only 15% had LDL cholesterol < 115 mg/dl. Patients aware about the target cholesterol levels had lower cholesterol levels from those unaware (217 +/- 36 versus 231 +/- 46 mg/dl, p = 0.0001). Only 50% of the coronary patients had desirable blood pressure levels (both systolic blood pressure < 140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg) and half of the diabetic patients had an optimal glucose control (glycosylated haemoglobin < 7.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a high prevalence and suboptimal management of modifiable risk factors in Greek coronary patients. This should alert physicians and cardiologists to encourage their patients for effective lifestyle interventions together with more vigorous management of hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and diabetes and appropriate use of prophylactic drugs.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11315125&dopt=Abstract lower cholesterol