Abstract 773 Poster Session IV, Tuesday, 5/4 (poster 51)

Atherosclerosis begins early in life and progresses slowly into symptomatic coronary heart disease in adulthood. Hypercholesterolemia is the main risk factor for atherosclerosis. Plant stanol margarine lowers serum cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults and children with familial hypercholesterolemia.

To study the cholesterol lowering effect and tolerability of plant stanol margarine in healthy children we launched a study with double-blind cross-over design. The study subjects were advised to replace 20 g per day of their dietary fat with plant stanol or control margarine for three months. After six weeks' wash-out period the diets were switched over for three months. The study subjects (n=81) were six years old children taking part in the STRIP project (n=774) which is a randomized, prospective trial aimed at reducing the predisposition of young children to known atherosclerosis risk factors. All children belonged to the intervention group and, thus, were already on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They had normal or mildly elevated serum cholesterol values with mean cholesterol concentration of 166 mg/dl.

Results were analyzed according to intention-to-treat principle. Seventy-two children completed the study. Plant stanol margarine was well tolerated. The mean consumption of plant stanol margarine was 18.2 g per day, and the plant stanol dose was 1.49 g per day. Plant stanol margarine reduced serum total and LDL cholesterol concentration by 5.4 and 7.5 percent, respectively. Neither serum HDL cholesterol nor triglyceride concentration or safety markers (hematological markers, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, and glutamyl transferase) were affected by plant stanol margarine. Serum concentration of α-tocopherol remained unchanged during plant stanol treatment. Serum β-carotene/LDL cholesterol ratio decreased by 17.6 percent.

We conclude that plant stanol margarine lowers serum total and LDL cholesterol without adverse effects in healthy children who are already on a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.