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 Trans fats raise bad cholesterol, lower good cholesterol and
ultimately increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. They're
found naturally in some foods but are often manufactured and added
to processed foods to improve taste and texture.
"New York City was progressive and they enacted restrictions on
trans fats, but no one looked to see if this made measurable changes
to outcomes," said study lead author Dr. Eric Brandt, of Yale
University in New Haven, Connecticut.
New York City limited the use of trans fats starting in July 2007.
The restrictions applied to food purchased outside of stores, such
as at restaurants, street vendors and bakeries, in the city's five
counties. Other New York counties took similar actions after New
York City's measure was enacted.
Previous research found that death from cardiovascular disease
declined 4.5 percent within a year after counties enacted trans fat
restrictions, the researchers write in JAMA Cardiology. No study
looked at non-fatal cardiovascular issues like hospitalizations due
to heart attacks and strokes, however.
For the new study, the researchers compared data on people
hospitalized between 2002 and 2013 for heart attacks or strokes in
counties that did or didn't restrict trans fats.
Altogether they had data on 3.3 million people in 25 counties
without trans fat restrictions and 8.4 million people in 11 counties
with restrictions.
In 2006, there were 753 hospital admissions for heart attack or
stroke per 100,000 people in counties that never enacted
restrictions compared to 726 per 100,000 people in counties that put
restrictions in place.
While admissions for heart attacks and strokes fell after 2002 in
all the counties, the drop was more substantial in those that
enacted trans fat restrictions, the authors found.
After three years or more, the combined rate of hospitalizations for
heart attacks or strokes was about 6 percent lower in the counties
with trans fat regulations.
Admissions for heart attacks were nearly 8 percent lower in counties
with restrictions. Similarly, admissions for strokes were about 4
percent lower in counties with restrictions, but that finding could
be due to chance.
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Brandt told Reuters Health that New York City was also pushing other
public health initiatives around the same time. Those included clean
air initiatives and showing calorie counts on restaurant menus.
When they removed New York City data to make sure those other
factors weren't driving the findings, the pattern didn't change.
"We still found the same thing," Brandt said.
Still, the study can't say the trans fat restrictions caused fewer
admissions in those counties.
Brandt and colleagues write that in 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) removed manufactured trans fats from its list
of safe food additives. By 2018, those fats will be nearly
eliminated from American diets, they add.
"There has been a lot of looking into whether trans fats are
harmful," said Brandt. "Here we find on a population level when we
restrict them, it benefits society by reducing heart attacks and
strokes."
The findings suggest the FDA's action will lead to health benefits
across the country, he added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2otJ6gK JAMA Cardiology, online April 12,
2017.
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