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Review ArticleMedical ProgressFree Preview

Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease

List of authors.
  • Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., M.P.H.,
  • Martijn B. Katan, Ph.D.,
  • Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H.,
  • Meir J. Stampfer, M.D., Dr.P.H.,
  • and Walter C. Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H.

The intake of trans fat has been associated with coronary heart disease, sudden death from cardiac causes, and diabetes. This article reviews the evidence for physiological and cellular effects of trans fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids with at least one double bond in the trans configuration. The authors consider the feasibility and potential implications of reducing or eliminating the consumption of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in the United States.

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Funding and Disclosures

Supported by a grant (K08-HL-075628) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health. The Wageningen Center for Food Sciences is an alliance of major Dutch food companies, Maastricht University, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, and Wageningen University and Research Center, with financial support from the Dutch government.

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

We are indebted to Dr. Ronald Mensink for providing updated meta-analysis results, to Dr. Peter Clifton for providing risk estimates from his published study, and to the organizers of and participants in the First International Symposium on Trans Fatty Acids and Health (Copenhagen, September 11–13, 2005) for informative discussions and international perspectives on trans fatty acids and cardiovascular health.

Author Affiliations

From the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health — all in Boston (D.M., A.A., M.J.S., W.C.W.); and the Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, and Wageningen Center for Food Sciences — both in Wageningen, the Netherlands (M.B.K.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Mozaffarian at the Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave., Bldg. 2, Rm. 315, Boston, MA 02115, or at .

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