TY - JOUR T1 - The Effect of Coconut Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. AU - Neelakantan,Nithya, AU - Seah,Jowy Yi Hoong, AU - van Dam,Rob M, Y1 - 2020/01/13/ PY - 2020/1/14/pubmed PY - 2020/11/12/medline PY - 2020/1/14/entrez KW - adiposity KW - cholesterol KW - coconut oil KW - glucose KW - heart disease KW - inflammation KW - triglycerides SP - 803 EP - 814 JF - Circulation JO - Circulation VL - 141 IS - 10 N2 - BACKGROUND: Coconut oil is high in saturated fat and may, therefore, raise serum cholesterol concentrations, but beneficial effects on other cardiovascular risk factors have also been suggested. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the effect of coconut oil consumption on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors compared with other cooking oils using data from clinical trials. METHODS: We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane Registry, and Web of Science through June 2019. We selected trials that compared the effects of coconut oil consumption with other fats that lasted at least 2 weeks. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the study quality according to the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The main outcomes included low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), total cholesterol, triglycerides, measures of body fatness, markers of inflammation, and glycemia. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: 16 articles were included in the meta-analysis. Results were available from all trials on blood lipids, 8 trials on body weight, 5 trials on percentage body fat, 4 trials on waist circumference, 4 trials on fasting plasma glucose, and 5 trials on C-reactive protein. Coconut oil consumption significantly increased LDL-cholesterol by 10.47 mg/dL (95% CI: 3.01, 17.94; I2 = 84%, N=16) and HDL-cholesterol by 4.00 mg/dL (95% CI: 2.26, 5.73; I2 = 72%, N=16) as compared with nontropical vegetable oils. These effects remained significant after excluding nonrandomized trials, or trials of poor quality (Jadad score <3). Coconut oil consumption did not significantly affect markers of glycemia, inflammation, and adiposity as compared with nontropical vegetable oils. CONCLUSIONS: Coconut oil consumption results in significantly higher LDL-cholesterol than nontropical vegetable oils. This should inform choices about coconut oil consumption. SN - 1524-4539 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/31928080/full_citation DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -