Nutrients, platelet function and composition in nine groups of French and British farmers

In 260 male farmers (40-45 years) divided into 9 groups from different areas in France and Britain, coagulation, platelet aggregation, lipemia, fatty acids from plasma lipids and platelet phospholipids were determined in relation to the food intake evaluated by recall, weighing and chemical analysis of the diet. The clotting activity of platelets and their response to thrombin aggregation was significantly correlated on an individual basis with the intake of saturated fatty acids both in subsamples as well as in the whole study. Serum cholesterol was also significantly correlated with saturated fats but only on a group basis or on the totality of the study. Calcium, linolenic acid and alcohol in the diet were inversely related to certain platelet functions. Linoleic acid was inversely related to serum cholesterol and triglycerides. Dietary saturated fats were associated, with an increase in the platelet phospholipids not in saturated fatty acids but in 20:3 (n-9), known to promote platelet aggregation to thrombin, with a decrease in platelet cholesterol, also apparently regulating platelet functions. The present studies indicate that dietary saturated fats, calcium (hard water) and alcohol, influence platelet behaviour in a way strictly parallel to their known effect on coronary heart disease.