Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden. sofia.klingberg@nutrition.gu.se
BACKGROUND: Plant sterols are bioactive compounds, found in all vegetable foods, which inhibit cholesterol absorption. Little is known about the effect of habitual natural dietary intake of plant sterols. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relation between plant sterol density (in mg/MJ) and serum concentrations of cholesterol in men and women in northern Sweden. DESIGN: The analysis included 37 150 men and 40 502 women aged 29-61 y, all participants in the Västerbotten Intervention Program. RESULTS: Higher plant sterol density was associated with lower serum total cholesterol in both sexes and with lower LDL cholesterol in women. After adjustment for age, body mass index (in kg/m(2)), and (in women) menopausal status, men with high plant sterol density (quintile 5) had 0.15 mmol/L (2.6%) lower total serum cholesterol (P for trend = 0.001) and 0.13 mmol/L (3.1%) lower LDL cholesterol (P = 0.062) than did men with low plant sterol density (quintile 1). The corresponding figures for women were 0.20 mmol/L (3.5%) lower total serum cholesterol (P for trend