A new study published in Nature has shown that the development of atherosclerosis, a type of artery disease, can begin much earlier in life than previously thought.
The study used a mouse model to see how exposure to high cholesterol at different times throughout one’s lifetime impacts the risk of developing atherosclerosis. In general, the risk of cardiovascular disease is related to cumulative lifetime exposure to unhealthy cholesterol through one’s diet, and earlier exposure is associated with greater risk. In this study, one group of mice was fed an intermittent high-cholesterol diet starting at a young age, while a second group of mice was fed a continuous high-cholesterol diet starting at an older age. Overall, both groups were fed the same amount of high-cholesterol food throughout their lifetimes. The high-cholesterol diet was designed to mimic the typical Western diet that is known to increase the risk of arterial disease. The two groups of mice were then monitored for the development of atherosclerosis over time.
The results showed that the group of mice that had been fed a fluctuating high-cholesterol diet throughout their lifetimes had accelerated atherosclerosis development compared to the group that had been fed a continuous high-cholesterol diet later in life. In other words, fluctuating exposure to a high-cholesterol diet tends to lead to worse health outcomes. The authors of the study then confirmed a similar result in humans using data from a study that had studied atherosclerosis risk and diet among about 2,000 participants from childhood through adulthood. Similar to the mouse study, the results showed that participants who had high exposure to cholesterol in childhood tended to have the most severe atherosclerosis in adulthood.
These results suggest that cholesterol levels should be monitored much earlier in life than previously thought. Additionally, the results suggest that fluctuating cholesterol levels are more damaging than continuous exposure; anyone taking cholesterol-lowering drugs should be sure to take their drugs continuously rather than intermittently, since fluctuating cholesterol exposure seems to have an unexpectedly large negative impact on health.
Sources: Nature, Science Daily