'Surprising' data: saturated fat may slow atherosclerotic progression in postmenopausal women.(Clinical Rounds)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Postmenopausal women who consumed the greatest amount of saturated fatty acids showed less progression of atherosclerosis over a 3-year period, according to a poster presented by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian at a conference on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention sponsored by the American Heart Association.

On the other hand, women with the greatest intakes of carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) showed the most atherosclerotic progression, said Dr. Mozaffarian of the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston.

In an interview with this newspaper, Dr. Mozaffarian called the findings "surprising," noting that he had expected to find worse outcomes with high intakes of saturated fat.

Researchers used coronary angiography to examine 2,243 coronary artery segments in 235 women enrolled in a multicenter trial that evaluated the effects of hormone replacement on atherosclerotic progression. Each woman underwent angiography at baseline and again an average of 3.1 years later.

The women completed the Willett food frequency questionnaire at the start of the study.

Researchers controlled for a long list of possibly confounding factors, including segment location, length of follow-up, enrollment site, early angiography, baseline measures, age, education, diabetes, smoking, lipid-lowering medication, and total energy intake.

Women in the lowest quartile of saturated fatty acid (SFA) consumption lost 0.22 mm in mean minimal coronary artery diameter. In contrast, women in the highest quartile of SFA consumption lost just 0.01 mm in coronary artery diameter, a significant difference.