Effect of long term low-fat dietary intervention on change in hemostatic factors: results from the Women's Health Initiative

Low-fat diet may play a role in prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by altering the levels of hemostatic factors. There are yet limited data on the effects of low-fat diet on the circulating levels of these factors and existing studies are limited by small sample size and short duration of follow-up. We conducted an analysis in a subset of women (active arm = 723; control arm = 1036) within the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial to investigate the long term effect of a low-fat diet on circulating levels of fibrinogen, factor VII concentration and factor VII activity among postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years. Using linear mixed effects model with random intercept and data from three follow-up visits (years 1, 3 and 6) we evaluated the change in each factor over time. Overall, the changes in these factors were small (less than 5%) in both the arms of the trials at the end of intervention and there was no significant difference in mean change between the two arms. Our results indicate that the low-fat dietary intervention was not associated with significant changes in hemostatic factors among postmenopausal women.