(PTFS18-06-24) Associations Between Meat Intake and Blood Cholesterol in Postmenopausal Women

Objectives: The study evaluated the association between white meat and red meat intake and the serum levels of LDL-C in generally healthy, postmenopausal women, aged 50-70 years.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional secondary analysis of baseline data from the Minnesota Green Tea Trial (MGTT), a randomized controlled trial (N=929). Demographics, lifestyle, dietary intake, and clinical characteristics of the sample were collected and assessed through questionnaires, anthropometric, and biochemical measurements. General linear models adjusting for covariates including total energy, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), saturated fat intake, statin use, and dietary fiber intake evaluated the association between meat intake and LDL-C levels.

Results: The sample was 97.60% White, 93.90% college-educated, had a mean age of 60 years, and a level of physical activity of 32 hours of metabolic equivalent per week (MET-hr/week); 79.00% did not use statins, 68.60% never smoked, and nearly 45.5% had a BMI in the range of overweight or obesity. The daily median caloric intake was 1368.72 kilocalories, 0.55 oz white meat, and 0.98 oz red meat. The mean LDL-C concentration was 118.71 ± 28.19 mg/dL, which is in the range of near-optimal values. Neither red meat nor white meat intake was associated with LDL-C levels, in the crude model. Similarly, there was no significant association between red meat intake and LDL-C concentrations (ß = 0.27, 95% CI = -2.62, 3.15, P=0.855), and white meat intake and LDL-C concentrations (ß = -0.63, 95% CI = -3.20, 1.93, P=0.629) after adjustment for potential covariates.

Conclusions: Findings from this study do not support an association between white or red meat intake and LDL-C levels in postmenopausal women who are generally healthy.

Funding Sources: None for the present study (the parent study was funded by the National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute).