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Meta-Analysis
. 2018 Sep;59(9):1771-1782.
doi: 10.1194/jlr.P085522. Epub 2018 Jul 13.

Effects of oils and solid fats on blood lipids: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Lukas Schwingshackl  1 , Berit Bogensberger  2 , Aleksander Benčič  3 , Sven Knüppel  3 , Heiner Boeing  3 , Georg Hoffmann  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effects of oils and solid fats on blood lipids: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Lukas Schwingshackl et al. J Lipid Res. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

The aim of this network meta-analysis (NMA) is to compare the effects of different oils/solid fats on blood lipids. Literature searches were performed until March 2018. Inclusion criteria were as follows: i) randomized trial (3 weeks study length) comparing at least two of the following oils/solid fats: safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, hempseed, flaxseed, corn, olive, soybean, palm, and coconut oil, and lard, beef-fat, and butter; ii) outcomes LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triacylglycerols (TGs). A random dose-response (per 10% isocaloric exchange) NMA was performed and surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was estimated. Fifty-four trials were included in the NMA. Safflower oil had the highest SUCRA value for LDL-C (82%) and TC (90%), followed by rapeseed oil (76% for LDL-C, 85% for TC); whereas, palm oil (74%) had the highest SUCRA value for TG, and coconut oil (88%) for HDL-C. Safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, flaxseed, corn, olive, soybean, palm, and coconut oil as well beef fat were more effective in reducing LDL-C (-0.42 to -0.23 mmol/l) as compared with butter. Despite limitations in these data, our NMA findings are in line with existing evidence on the metabolic effects of fat and support current recommendations to replace high saturated-fat food with unsaturated oils.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; evidence synthesis; fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Example of indirect relative effects in a hypothetical triangle comparing three interventions (A: olive oil; B: butter; C: palm oil).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Network diagram for TC (A), LDL-C (B), HDL-C (C), and TGs (D). The size of the nodes is proportional to the total number of participants allocated to the intervention and the thickness of the lines is proportional to the number of studies evaluating each direct comparison.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Interval-plot showing the mean differences (95% CI) for LDL-C as estimated from the NMA for every possible pair of interventions. Solid lines represent 95% CIs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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