Partly for mental exercise, I make some attempt to organize my posts according to topics, assuming nothing jumps out like
yesterday's donepezil +/- memantine trial. So I'm back today looking at another study regarding stroke risk (see
Wednesday's post regarding the effect of diabetes duration). Specifically, this
observational study links greater consumption of trans fat to ischemic stroke in post-menopausal women. If you'll recall, just like
Clint Eastwood's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, among fatty acids, there are unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats (good fats turned bad - which is what makes them ugly!).
Without oversimplifying things too much, trans fats lower HDL (good) cholesterol while raising LDL (bad) cholesterol. Trans fats are rarely found in natural foods but are typically a product of converting unsaturated fats into partially hydrogenated fats for use in mass production of processed foods. And only recently has the
Food & Drug Administration required labeling of trans fat content for processed foods, although it's hedged a bit since
products can contain up to 0.49g of trans fat and still be labeled as containing none!
So back to this re-analysis of 87,025 postmenopausal women average age 63+yo in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study who were stroke-free at baseline. Dietary habits were assessed at baseline and 3 years later w/total follow up out to an average of 7+yrs. The authors noted that greater trans fat consumption was associated with lower socioeconomic status, smoking, diabetes, and physical inactivity. Yet, after taking into account these and other confounders,
greatest trans fat consumption was associated with 39% greater risk of ischemic stroke compared to lowest consumption.
Interestingly, those participants who consumed aspirin 81mg daily demonstrated a lower risk of stroke, consistent with
current guidelines for 1o prevention of stroke in women (as opposed to prevention of heart disease in men). Bottom line, ladies, think twice about eating trans fat laden processed food. And if you must, consider washing it down with a baby aspirin chaser.
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