As animal fat intake is doubled, stroke incidence decreases by 60%

This study was published in Circulation 1989 Mar;79(3):503-15

Study title and authors:
Trends for coronary heart disease and stroke and their risk factors in Japan.

Shimamoto T, Komachi Y, Inada H, Doi M, Iso H, Sato S, Kitamura A, Iida M, Konishi M, Nakanishi N, et al.
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki-ken, Japan.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2783893

This study assessed the changes in risk factor trends for coronary heart disease and stroke during a 20 year period in a population of 7,030.

The study found:
(a) Cholesterol levels in men aged rose by 13% over the 20 years.
(b) Cholesterol levels in women aged rose by 16% over the 20 years.
(c) Animal fat intake doubled and animal protein rose by almost a quarter over the 20 years.
(d) This rise may be attributable to an increased intake of meat, eggs and dairy products.
(d) Blood pressure levels decreased over the 20 years.
(e) The incidence of coronary heart disease did not change among men and women.
(f) The incidence of all stroke declined about 60% for both men and women.

To conclude: An increase in dietary animal fat and protein leads to an increase in cholesterol levels, no change in heart disease incidence, a decrease in blood pressure and a 60% decrease in stroke.