Cross-cultural comparison between Taipei Chinese and Framingham Americans: dietary intakes, blood lipids, and apolipoproteins

Abstract

Interpretive Summary: The effect of dietary intake on plasma lipid levels was compared in two populations, Chinese living in Taipei, Taiwan and Americans living in Framingham, MA (USA). Dietary information was collected by having the subjects recall all the food and drink they had consumed over the previous 24-hour period. Blood samples were collected and analyzed in the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. The subjects in Taipei consumed a diet that was lower in total fat and alcohol than the Framingham subjects; they consumed less saturated fat and more polyunsaturated fat. These differences in the Taiwanese diet were related to lower concentrations of total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and higher high density lipoprotein concentrations than the Framingham diet. These differences appeared to be due to actual differences in the diet and not to differences in body weight and/or height between the two populations. The data suggest that populations consuming a diet lower in saturated fat and higher in polyunsaturated fat have more favorable plasma lipid concentrations in relation to the risk of developing CHD. Technical Abstract: Dietary intakes (24-hour recall), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein (apo) A-I and apo B were assessed in healthy middle-aged subjects in Taipei, and in sex-age-menopause matched subjects in the Framingham Heart Study. Taipei subjects consumed a diet consisting of 16%, 48%, 35% and 1% of calories from protein, carbohydrate, fat, and alcohol, vs 17% 40%, 39%, and 4% in Framingham subjects, respectively. The saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the diet was estimated to be 9%, 13%, and 13% of total calories in Taipei subjects and 16%, 15%, and 8% in Framingham subjects, respectively. The differences between Taipei and Framingham subjects were quite substantial for lipid parameters but less so for apolipoprotein levels. Gender differences for TG, HDL-C, apoA-I, and apo B were more profound than differences due to nationality. Taipei male and female subjects had significantly lower TC, LDL-C, and significantly higher HDL-C concentrations than Framingham male and female subjects. After adjusting for body mass index (BMI), TC and LDL-C levels remained significantly different for both sexes between populations, probably attributable to differences in saturated fat intake. This study documents that urban workers in Taipei consumed a diet with a relatively high polyunsaturated and low saturated content and had more favorable lipid profiles than Framingham Americans.