ImpactofMealFattyAcidCompositionon PostprandialLipemiainMetabolicallyHealthy AdultsandIndividualswithCardiovascularDisease RiskFactors:ASystematicReview

Abstract

Consuming fat results in postprandial lipemia, which is defined as an increase in blood triglyceride (TG) concentration. According to current knowledge, an excessively elevated postprandial TG concentration increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is well known that mealdependent(e.g.,nutrientcomposition)aswellasmeal-independentfactors(e.g.,age)determinethemagnitudeofthelipemicresponse.However, there is conflicting evidence concerning the influence of fatty acid (FA) composition on postprandial TG concentration. The FA composition of a meal depends on the fat source used; for example, butter and coconut oil are rich in SFAs, while olive oil and canola oil have a high content of unsaturatedFAs.ToinvestigatetheinfluenceofmealspreparedwithfatsourcesrichineitherSFAsorunsaturatedFAsonpostprandiallipemia,we carriedoutasystematicliteraturesearchinPubMed,Scopus,andtheCochraneLibrary.RandomizedcrossoverstudieswereanalyzedandtheAUC of postprandial TG concentration served as the primary outcome measure. To examine the influence of health status, we differentiated between metabolicallyhealthyindividualsandthosewithCVDriskfactors.Intotal,23studieswereincluded.Theresultsshowthat,inmetabolicallyhealthy adults, the FA composition of a meal is not a relevant determinant of postprandial lipemia. However, in individuals with CVD risk factors, SFArich meals (>32 g SFA/meal) often elicited a stronger lipemic response than meals rich in unsaturated FAs. The results suggest that adults with hypertriglyceridemia, an elevated BMI (≥30 kg/m2), and/or who are older (>40 y) may benefit from replacing SFA sources with unsaturated FAs. ThesehypothesesneedtobeverifiedbyfurtherstudiesinpeoplewithCVDriskfactorsusingstandardizedpostprandialprotocols.Thisreviewwas registeredinPROSPEROasCRD42021214508(https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/).