Carotid artery compliance in users of plant stanol ester margarine

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of stanol ester margarine use in healthy subjects on arterial compliance, endothelial function and intima-media thickness. DESIGN: Case-control study comparing regular stanol ester margarine users to non-users. SETTING: Occupational health service clinic. SUBJECTS: We recruited 50 cases and 50 controls (mean age 51+/-8, range 26-65 years). All subjects were non-smokers and the study groups were matched for age and sex. As cases, we invited subjects who had been using regularly (daily) plant stanol ester margarine for a period of 2 years or longer. Non-invasive ultrasound was used to measure carotid artery compliance, carotid intima-media thickness and brachial artery flow-mediated endothelial dependent vasodilatation. RESULTS: The carotid artery compliance was non-significantly higher in cases compared with controls, 1.84+/-1.02 vs 1.58+/-0.76 %/10 mm Hg (P=0.13). The difference in compliance became statistically significant (P=0.04) when the unbalance between the groups in family history of coronary artery disease and years of education were taken into account. There was also a significant dose-response relationship between stanol margarine use and carotid compliance, longer use being associated with higher compliance. Serum lipoproteins, blood pressure, flow-mediated dilation and intima-media thickness values did not differ between cases and controls. CONCLUSION: These data raise the possibility that regular stanol ester margarine use may be associated with beneficial changes in arterial compliance. Intervention studies are needed to test this hypothesis and to reveal possible mechanisms.