Abstract P273: Dietary Saturated Fatty Acids and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in a Dutch Elderly Population: Food Source and Carbon Chain Length Matter

Introduction: The association between dietary saturated fatty acids (SFA) and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) is heavily debated and appears to be more complex than initially thought. The food source and carbon chain length of SFA, as well as the macronutrient replacing SFA in the diet may affect the association between dietary SFA and CHD. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that the association between dietary SFA and incident CHD is dependent on the food source of SFA, the carbon chain length of SFA, and the substituting macronutrient. Methods: From the Rotterdam Study, we included 4,722 healthy men and women, aged 55 years or older. Baseline (1998-1993) SFA intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Incident CHD comprised fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarctions and coronary mortality up to January 2011, and was assessed through digital linkage with municipality records and general practitioners. We used multivariable Cox’ proportional hazard models to calculate ...