Use of plant stanol ester margarine among persons with and without cardiovascular disease: early phases of the adoption of a functional food in Finland.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The plant stanol ester margarine Benecol is a functional food that has been shown to lower effectively serum total and LDL-cholesterol. The purpose of this post-marketing study is to characterize users of plant stanol ester margarine with and without cardiovascular disease.

Methods

A cohort of plant stanol ester margarine users was established based on a compilation of 15 surveys conducted by the National Public Health Institute in Finland between 1996-2000. There were 29,772 subjects aged 35-84 years in the cohort. The users of plant stanol ester margarine were identified by the type of bread spread used.

Results

The plant stanol ester margarine was used as bread spread by 1332 (4.5%) subjects. Almost half (46%) of the users reported a history of cardiovas

SUBMITTER: Simojoki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1177987 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature