THURSDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- Although eggs are a significant source of dietary cholesterol, altering intake of eggs does not seem to have any impact on the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Luc Djousse, M.D., and J. Michael Gaziano, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, conducted a study of 21,327 participants in the Physicians' Health Study I, who completed an abbreviated food questionnaire.
The subjects were followed-up for an average of 20 years, during which time there were 1,550 new myocardial infarctions, 1,342 incident strokes and 5,169 deaths. There was no association between egg consumption and stroke or myocardial infarction, the researchers report. However, there was a 23 percent increased risk of mortality among those who ate seven or more eggs a week compared to those who ate less than one egg a week, and the risk was doubled among diabetics who ate seven or more eggs a week versus less than one.
"Confirmation of these findings in the general population and among diabetic subjects, along with the investigation of possible biologic mechanisms, is warranted," the authors write.
The author of an accompanying editorial reports a financial relationship to the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial
