Frequency of consumption of selected indicator foods and serum cholesterol

The relationship between frequency of consumption of eleven indicator foods (milk, meat, liver, carrots, green vegetables, fruit, eggs, ham, fish, cheese and alcohol) and serum cholesterol was investigated in the comparison group of a case-control study of acute myocardial infarction conducted in Italy. Data were collected on 792 subjects from various Italian regions, admitted to hospital for acute conditions unrelated to any known or potential risk factor for myocardial infarction or to long-term modifications in diet. No statistically or epidemiologically meaningful relationship emerged between serum cholesterol level and frequency of consumption of any of these foods. Cholesterol levels rose according to increasing consumption tertiles for most of the indicator foods considered. Higher values for the higher tertile of consumption were observed for meat, ham and eggs, but also for fruit, carrots and green vegetables. However, correlation coefficients between frequency of consumption of various food items and serum cholesterol level were uniformly low for all food items considered, ranging between -0.09 (for milk) and 0.19 (for ham). Although a more comprehensive diet history may lead to different indications, the present data are not suggestive of any major influence of long-term frequency of consumption of a few selected indicator foods on serum cholesterol levels.