Front Nutr. 2025 Nov 12;12:1699166. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1699166. eCollection 2025.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The quality of fat in food affects the cardiovascular system by means of inflammatory and lipid pathways.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship among middle-aged persons' cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk indicators and the composition of their dietary fat.
METHODOLOGY: Two hundred adults (aged 40-65) from the Henan Provincial Chest Hospital's databases were incorporated in this retrospective, hospital-based observational investigation. Dietary consumption information was taken from food frequency questionnaires that had been filled out and were kept in medical records. Employing the unsaturated-to-saturated fatty acid proportion (UFA:SFA), dietary fat composition was measured and subjects were separated into tertiles. Anthropometric variables, lipid levels (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C), and inflammation levels (hs-CRP) were obtained from pre-existing laboratory and hospital records.
RESULTS: In comparison to the lowest tertile, the highest UFA:SFA tertile had greater HDL-C (+8.29 mg/dL, d = 1.54), decreased TC (-30.33 mg/dL, d = 2.86), LDL-C (-24.73 mg/dL, d = 2.67), and hs-CRP (-1.28 mg/L, d = 2.53; all p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Better lipid and inflammatory levels were associated with higher dietary fat quality, highlighting the significance of substituting unsaturated fats for saturated fats as a CVD prevention measure. However, prospective or interventional research are required to investigate causal effects, as these results are observational and demonstrate association rather than causality.
PMID:41311796 | PMC:PMC12649816 | DOI:10.3389/fnut.2025.1699166