High levels of saturated fat and cholesterol consumption are associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2000 Dec 1;152(11):1056-64

 

Study title and authors:

Dietary fat in relation to risk of multiple sclerosis among two large cohorts of women.

Zhang SM, Willett WC, Hernán MA, Olek MJ, Ascherio A.

Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Shumin.Zhang@channing.harvard.edu

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11117615

This study investigated the relationship between fat and cholesterol consumption and the risk of multiple sclerosis. The study included 187,811 women who were followed for up to 14 years.

The study found:
(a) Women who consumed the most saturated fat had a 20% decreased risk of multiple sclerosis compared to the women who consumed the least saturated fat.
(b) Women who consumed the most cholesterol had a 30% decreased risk of multiple sclerosis compared to the women who consumed the least cholesterol.
(c) Women who consumed the most omega-6 polyunsaturated fat (vegetable oils) had a 70% INCREASED risk of multiple sclerosis compared to the women who consumed the least omega-6 polyunsaturated fat.

The data from the study reveals that high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol consumption are associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis.