Phytosterols increase the risk of coronary artery disease
Phytosterols are lipid compounds formed in plants that are ingested with food, for example nuts or vegetable oils. In some cases, these are artificially added to various foods such as yoghurt or margarine, as they can lower cholesterol and are thus perceived as having a positive effect on our health. On the other hand, phytosterols are similar to cholesterols and can themselves be deposited in vascular walls, which may lead to atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis, deposits form in the walls of medium-sized and large arteries, obstructing and blocking the flow of blood. The relationship between phytosterols and coronary heart disease is therefore a contentious issue in medical research.
Scientists from the Faculty of Medicine, in cooperation with other European study groups, conducted a genetic association analysis of phytosterol concentrations in the blood of nearly 10,000 subjects. Using a method to determine the influence of variable risk factors on diseases by exploiting genetic factors, the team succeeded in inferring causal relationships between phytosterols, cholesterol and coronary heart disease. "It appears that there are both direct and indirect cholesterol-mediated negative causal effects of phytosterols on the risk of coronary heart disease. The study thus makes a significant contribution to a discussion that has been controversial for many years," said study leader Professor Markus Scholz from the Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE) at Leipzig University, adding: "Although this does not yet allow an immediate conclusion regarding the addition of phytosterols to food, high phytosterol concentrations are a risk factor that should be taken into account."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27706-6
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