A comparison of plasma cholesterol concentrations and diet among people having recently moved from a rural area to a regional city and those born there.

Abstract

Plasma cholesterol concentrations and diets of people who had recently moved from a rural area to a regional city were compared with those of people born there. Three hundred and thirty-eight adults, 67% of those eligible in a sample randomly selected from the electoral rolls of Ballarat, attended a cardiovascular risk factor screening clinic. Of these, 95 were born in Ballarat and 41 had moved there in the previous six years. The latter had a significantly lower average fasting plasma cholesterol concentration (5.12±1.05 versus 5.65±1.38 mmol/L), a lower average daily total fat intake (9.13±1.78 versus 9.77±1.89 g/1000 kJ), a significantly lower average daily saturated fatty acid intake (3.44±0.97 versus 4.03±0.98 g/1000 kJ), a significantly lower ratio of saturated to total fat (41.4±6.6 versus 45.3±7.6) and a significantly higher average daily fibre intake (3.43±0.99 versus 2.93±1.03 g/1000 kJ). Rural people moving to regional cities may be acquiring a greater risk of cardiovascular disease.