The influence of dietary change on hemostatic risk variables

In the 1970s in the Diet-Antismoking Trial, of the Oslo Study, colleagues and I found that the majority of high-risk men with elevated serum cholesterol and elevated triglyceride concentrations had impaired fibrinolytic capacity. Later on, both our group and others found a similar negative correlation between serum triglyceride levels and fibrinolytic capacity. Furthermore, in a prospective study of dietary intervention in individuals with both elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, we found that dietary lowering of serum triglyceride levels was significantly and positively correlated with an improvement in fibrinolytic capacity. In another study, we made the same observation for the coagulation factor VII-phospholipid complex: the more the triglycerides were reduced by diet, the greater was the change in factor VII complex. This correlation was highly significant and independent of changes in serum cholesterol. Platelet function is also influenced by dietary habits, but except for the effects of a fish oil-enriched diet, few data are available about the dietary effects on platelet function. It seems, however, that in individuals with elevated lipid levels and elevated blood pressure, increased platelet reactivity is a highly prevalent finding. Many of the hemostatic risk variables are associated with the so-called "metabolic risk syndrome" characterized by an increase in serum insulin level, together with increased relative body weight, mild hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and physical inactivity. This syndrome can often be influenced favorably by life-style changes. A controlled study with interventions in diet and activity level has just been started by our group.