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Diet modification in lowering plasma cholesterol levels
Author(s) -
Johnston Heather J,
Jones Michael,
RidlerDutton Greta,
Spechler Fifi,
Stokes Gordon S,
Wyndham Lindsay E
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1995.tb138510.x
Subject(s) - medicine , psychological intervention , cholesterol , nutritionist , lipoprotein , physical therapy , endocrinology , nursing , pathology
Objective To compare the efficacy of three types of diet and lifestyle interventions for lowering plasma lipid levels. Design Randomised parallelgroup trial. Subjects and setting Adults with plasma cholesterol levels of 5.5‐8.0 mmol/L attending two Sydney community health screening clinics were asked to participate: 179 agreed and 131 completed the study. Interventions A pamphlet with brief advice; group dietary counselling; or individual counselling. Counselling included three sessions with a dietitian/nutritionist over six months. Main outcome measures Plasma total cholesterol levels measured by Reflotron analyser; fasting serum lipid levels measured by standard laboratory methods; and calculated low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Results Significantly lower plasma total cholesterol levels (Reflotron) were observed at two months and at six months with each of the three interventions. Additionally, both types of dietitian‐based counselling resulted in small but significant decreases in plasma low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at six months in a subset of subjects. Conclusion Although there were no statistically significant differences in efficacy between the three types of intervention, dietitians have a role to play in setting up such counselling programs.