Authors
Campbell TC. Parpia B. Chen J.
Institution
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853,
USA.
Title
Diet, lifestyle, and the
etiology of coronary artery disease: the
Cornell China study.
Source
American Journal of Cardiology. 82(10B):18T-21T, 1998 Nov 26.
Abstract
Investigators collected and analyzed mortality data for >50 diseases,
including 7 different cancers, from 65 counties and 130 villages in rural
mainland China. Blood, urine, food samples, and detailed
dietary data were collected from 50 adults in each village
and analyzed for a variety of nutritional, viral, hormonal, and toxic
chemical factors. In rural China, fat intake was less than half that in
the United States, and fiber intake was 3 times higher.
Animal protein intake was very low, only about 10% of the US
intake. Mean serum total cholesterol was 127 mg/dL in rural China versus 203
mg/dL for adults aged 20-74 years in the United States.
Coronary artery disease mortality was 16.7-fold greater for US men and
5.6-fold greater for US women than for their Chinese
counterparts. The combined coronary artery disease mortality
rates for both genders in rural China were inversely associated with
the frequency of intake of green vegetables and plasma
erythrocyte monounsaturated fatty acids, but positively associated with a
combined index of salt intake plus urinary sodium and plasma apolipoprotein
B. These apolipoproteins, in turn, are positively associated
with animal protein intake and the frequency of meat intake
and inversely associated with plant protein, legume, and light-colored
vegetable intake. Rates of other diseases were also
correlated with dietary factors. There was
no evidence of a threshold beyond which further benefits did
not accrue with increasing proportions of plant-based foods in
the diet.