DIETARY FAT, SERUM CHOLESTEROL, AND ISCHAeMIC HEART DISEASE IN CEYLON

Abstract

The fat consumption of 200 patients suffering from ischemic heart disease in Ceylon was estimated and found to be low compared with Western standards. The amount of fat consumed by these patients was similar to that noted in a survey on the normal population in Ceylon in 1949, and was likewise found to vary with income levels. It was thought that dietary fat did not play an important role in the etiology of ischemic heart disease which is common in Ceylon. The serum cholesterol levels of the male patients were compared with those of a normal control group. The mean level of the patients was found to be significantly higher than that of the controls in the 4th and 5th decades, and varied with fat consumption and income levels. The serum cholesterol levels in Ceylon were, however, far below American figures. Indeed, a serum cholesterol level high for Ceylon would be considered low by American standards. There is, therefore, a need for establishing mean normal serum cholesterol levels for each country. It is thought that the raised serum cholesterol levels of patients, as compared with controls, cannot be explained by differences in fat consumption; the exact cause has yet to be determined. There is no evidence to support the theory that dietary fat causes ischemic heart disease. On the contrary, it is difficult to believe that dietary fat plays any significant part in its causation.