Researchers of a new study did not find a link between moderately high intake of dietary cholesterol or eating up to one egg every day, and increased risk of stroke.
APOE4 Phenotype
The researchers neither found an association in carriers of the APOE4 phenotype, which influences cholesterol metabolism. APOE4 carriers are genetically predisposed to experience more of the effect of dietary cholesterol on their serum cholesterol levels.
In the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers assessed the dietary habits of 1,950 men between 42 and 60 years old who were not diagnosed of cardiovascular disease at the start of the study. Some of the participants were known carriers of APOE4 phenotype.
The objective of the study is to explore the associations of egg and cholesterol intake with risk of stroke and find out if APOE4 phenotype could influence these associations. The study involved middle-aged and older men from Finland, where APOE4 phenotype is relatively common among the population.
No Association Between Cholesterol Intake, Daily Egg Consumption, And Stroke Risk
Study participants in the highest control group had an average daily dietary cholesterol intake of 520 mg and consumed about one egg per day. One egg has about 200 mg of cholesterol.
Over the course of the 21-year follow-up period, 217 of the participants had a stroke, but researchers found that neither dietary cholesterol nor daily consumption of eggs was linked to risk of stroke, even in carriers of APOE4.
The findings suggest that even in individuals who are genetically predisposed to greater effects of dietary cholesterol, cholesterol intake, or daily egg consumption is not associated with risk of stroke.
"Neither egg nor cholesterol intakes were associated with stroke risk in this cohort, regardless of apoE phenotype," researchers wrote in their study.
This is not the first study to show that it is relatively safe to consume eggs regularly. A 2016 study also found that a relatively high intake of cholesterol found in one egg is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.
