Population Studies on Serum Cholesterol and Dietary Fat in Yugoslavia

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Abstract
Serum cholesterol was determined in clinically healthy subjects in three localities of rural Croatia, markedly differing in the fat content of the diet. Two of the areas were closely similar in the total amount of fat, estimated at 85 to 100 g/day, but differed sharply in the kind of fats used. In the “animal-fat” area (N = 79), over 90 per cent of the fat intake was of animal origin. It was consumed in the form of lard, fat pork meat, smoked bacon and ham, and dairy products. In the “olive-oil” area (N = 66) this vegetable oil, containing a substantially higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acid, covered a similarly high proportion of the total fat consumption. There was very little of dairy products and sea fish served as a principal of fresh meat. In the third, “low-fat” area (N = 64) both animal and vegetable oil were used, in a total amount estimated to be below 50 per cent of that consumed in the other two regions. Statistical analysis indicated that (1) significant linear age trends in serum cholesterol were present, (2) within the given age limits (19 to 59 years), there was no significant departure from linearity in the age trends of serum cholesterol for any area, (3) differences between linear slopes were not significant, but (4) the level of regression lines was significantly higher in the “animal-fat” than in the “low-fat” or the “olive-oil” areas. The corresponding age-adjusted values of serum cholesterol for age 40 years were 239, 211 and 201 mg/100 ml, respectively.