LONGER TERM EFFECTS OF EARLY
CHOLESTEROL INTAKE ON CHOLESTEROL BIOSYNTHESIS AND PLASMA LIPIDS: A
RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL
Théa A. Demmers
1, Peter J.H. Jones
1, Yanwen Wang
1, Susan Krug
2, Vivian Creutzinger
2, James E. Heubi
21School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Québec, Canada H9X 3V9, 22Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States 45229
Introduction:
Although endogenous cholesterol (Ch) fractional synthesis rate (FSR) is inversely related to infant dietary Ch at 4 months of age, whether this effect is lasting and demonstrative of metabolic imprinting remains to be established.
Objective: To determine whether level of dietary Ch in infancy induced changes in FSR and plasma lipids that persisted at 18 months.
Methods: A prospective, clinical trial in 47 infants who received, from their first week of life until 18 months, human milk (HM) until weaned (n=15), or were randomized to receive modified cow-milk formula (MCF) with added Ch (n=15), or cow-milk formula (CF, n=17), for 12 months. Ch contents of HM, MCF, and CF were 120, 80, and 40 mg/L, respectively. FSR was measured at 4 and 18 months.
Results: At 4 months, FSR in the HM group (0.034 (0.005) pools/day) was lower (p<0.02) than in CF (0.052 (0.005) pools/day). There was no difference between HM and MCF (0.047 (0.005) pools/day), nor between MCF and CF.
At 18 months, there were no differences in FSR between groups.
Conclusion: While Ch intake prior to weaning affects FSR and plasma lipids at 4 months, these differences do not persist after weaning to unrestricted diet at 18 months. This provides further evidence that there is no imprinting of FSR in infancy by differing dietary levels of Ch.
Key Words: cholesterol, breast-fed, formula-fed, fractional synthesis rate, deuterium
