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Research

JAMA | Original Investigation

Associations of Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption


With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality
Victor W. Zhong, PhD; Linda Van Horn, PhD; Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD; John T. Wilkins, MD, MS; Hongyan Ning, MD, MS;
Mercedes R. Carnethon, PhD; Philip Greenland, MD; Robert J. Mentz, MD; Katherine L. Tucker, PhD; Lihui Zhao, PhD;
Arnita F. Norwood, PhD; Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM; Norrina B. Allen, PhD

Editorial page 1055


IMPORTANCE Cholesterol is a common nutrient in the human diet and eggs are a major source Supplemental content
of dietary cholesterol. Whether dietary cholesterol or egg consumption is associated with
cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality remains controversial. CME Quiz at
jamanetwork.com/learning
and CME Questions page 1102
OBJECTIVE To determine the associations of dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with
incident CVD and all-cause mortality.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Individual participant data were pooled from 6
prospective US cohorts using data collected between March 25, 1985, and August 31, 2016.
Self-reported diet data were harmonized using a standardized protocol.

EXPOSURES Dietary cholesterol (mg/day) or egg consumption (number/day).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Hazard ratio (HR) and absolute risk difference (ARD) over
the entire follow-up for incident CVD (composite of fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease,
stroke, heart failure, and other CVD deaths) and all-cause mortality, adjusting for
demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors.

RESULTS This analysis included 29 615 participants (mean [SD] age, 51.6 [13.5] years at
baseline) of whom 13 299 (44.9%) were men and 9204 (31.1%) were black. During a median
follow-up of 17.5 years (interquartile range, 13.0-21.7; maximum, 31.3), there were 5400
incident CVD events and 6132 all-cause deaths. The associations of dietary cholesterol or egg
consumption with incident CVD and all-cause mortality were monotonic (all P values for
nonlinear terms, .19-.83). Each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol consumed per day
was significantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.17 [95% CI,
1.09-1.26]; adjusted ARD, 3.24% [95% CI, 1.39%-5.08%]) and all-cause mortality (adjusted
HR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.10-1.26]; adjusted ARD, 4.43% [95% CI, 2.51%-6.36%]). Each additional
Author Affiliations: Department of
half an egg consumed per day was significantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD Preventive Medicine, Northwestern
(adjusted HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.03-1.10]; adjusted ARD, 1.11% [95% CI, 0.32%-1.89%]) and University Feinberg School of
all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.04-1.11]; adjusted ARD, 1.93% [95% CI, Medicine, Chicago, Illinois (Zhong,
Van Horn, Cornelis, Wilkins, Ning,
1.10%-2.76%]). The associations between egg consumption and incident CVD (adjusted HR,
Carnethon, Greenland, Zhao,
0.99 [95% CI, 0.93-1.05]; adjusted ARD, −0.47% [95% CI, −1.83% to 0.88%]) and all-cause Lloyd-Jones, Allen); Department of
mortality (adjusted HR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.97-1.09]; adjusted ARD, 0.71% [95% CI, −0.85% to Medicine, Duke University Medical
2.28%]) were no longer significant after adjusting for dietary cholesterol consumption. Center, Durham, North Carolina
(Mentz); Duke Clinical Research
Institute, Durham, North Carolina
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among US adults, higher consumption of dietary cholesterol (Mentz); Department of Biomedical
or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD and all-cause mortality in and Nutritional Sciences, University
of Massachusetts Lowell (Tucker);
a dose-response manner. These results should be considered in the development of dietary
Department of Medicine, University
guidelines and updates. of Mississippi Medical Center,
Jackson (Norwood).
Corresponding Authors: Victor W.
Zhong, PhD (wenze.zhong@
northwestern.edu), and Norrina B.
Allen, PhD (norrina-allen@
northwestern.edu), Department of
Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School
of Medicine, Northwestern
University, 680 N Lake Shore Dr,
JAMA. 2019;321(11):1081-1095. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.1572 Ste 1400, Chicago, IL 60611.

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

T
he associations between dietary cholesterol consump-
tion and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality re- Key Points
main controversial despite decades of research.1 The de-
Question Is consuming dietary cholesterol or eggs associated
bate has intensified recently due to the inclusion of 2 seemingly with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality?
contradictory statements in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guide-
Findings Among 29 615 adults pooled from 6 prospective cohort
lines for Americans2,3: (1) “Cholesterol is not a nutrient of con-
studies in the United States with a median follow-up of 17.5 years,
cern for overconsumption”; and (2) “Individuals should eat as
each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol consumed per day
little dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy was significantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD
eating pattern.” The most recent meta-analysis of prospec- (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; adjusted absolute risk difference
tive cohort studies could not draw meaningful conclusions [ARD], 3.24%) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.18; adjusted
about the association between dietary cholesterol consump- ARD, 4.43%), and each additional half an egg consumed per day
tion and CVD, primarily due to sparse data, between-study was significantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD
(adjusted HR, 1.06; adjusted ARD, 1.11%) and all-cause mortality
heterogeneity, and lack of methodologic rigor of the re-
(adjusted HR, 1.08; adjusted ARD, 1.93%).
viewed studies.1
Cholesterol, saturated fat, and animal protein often coex- Meaning Among US adults, higher consumption of dietary
ist in foods.2 The interaction and independence between cholesterol or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of
incident CVD and all-cause mortality in a dose-response manner.
dietary cholesterol and these nutrients in relation to CVD
and mortality remain uncertain. Further, it is unclear
whether eating an overall high-quality diet attenuates the Diet Data Assessment
associations of dietary cholesterol consumption with CVD Using a standardized protocol and data dictionary, diet data
and mortality or if the food source of cholesterol (eg, eggs, were harmonized cohort by cohort. Briefly, consumption fre-
red meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products) is important. quencies were converted into estimated number per day using
Eggs, specially the yolk, are a major source of dietary choles- the middle value (eg, 3-4 times per week = 0.5 times per day).
terol; a large egg (≈50 g) contains approximately 186 mg of One serving unit was standardized across cohorts. Food groups
cholesterol.4 Reported associations of egg consumption with were constructed using the same definitions. Ingredients in
CVD and mortality have been inconsistent overall and by sub- mixed dishes were considered and the appropriate portions
types of these events.5-10 were determined for each cohort. The first available diet data
Individual participant data were pooled from 6 cohorts collection visit was defined as baseline ranging between 1985
from the Lifetime Risk Pooling Project to address the afore- in CARDIA and 2005 in JHS. Only baseline measures were in-
mentioned gaps.11 The primary objective was to determine the cluded for this study. Additional details are provided in the eAp-
associations of dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with pendix in the Supplement.
incident CVD and all-cause mortality.
Outcome Ascertainment
The primary outcomes were incident CVD and all-cause mor-
tality. Incident CVD was a composite end point of fatal and
Methods nonfatal coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, heart failure, and
This study was approved by the institutional review board at CVD death from other causes. Secondary outcomes were CHD,
Northwestern University. Written informed consent was ob- stroke, heart failure, CVD mortality, and non-CVD mortality. The
tained from all participants for initial data collection in each included cohorts used similar ascertainment and adjudication
original cohort. For this analysis of deidentified data, specific criteria for CVD and mortality events. Vital status was known
consent was not required. for 98% of the participants. The adjudication criteria included
International Classification of Diseases codes (versions 8, 9,
Study Sample or 10); diagnostic procedures; and review of medical records,
The Lifetime Risk Pooling Project included 20 community- autopsy data, or both. Methods for adjudication have been de-
based prospective cohorts of US participants primarily for the scribed in ARIC,12 CARDIA,18 FHS,19 FOS,19 JHS,20 and MESA,17
study of long-term risks and development patterns of CVD as well as in the Lifetime Risk Pooling Project.11,21-23 The most
over the life course in adults.11 Six cohorts that each assessed recent follow-up ended on August 31, 2016.
usual dietary intake and had information on key study vari-
ables (see following Methods subsections) were included in Covariate Assessment
this analysis. The cohorts were the Atherosclerosis Risk Standardized questionnaires and laboratory protocols were
in Communities (ARIC) Study,12 Coronary Artery Risk Devel- used to collect information on the following variables: age, sex,
opment in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, 13 Framingham race/ethnicity, education, lifestyle factors (including smok-
Heart Study (FHS),14 Framingham Offspring Study (FOS),15 ing, alcohol intake, and physical activity), body mass index
Jackson Heart Study (JHS),16 and the Multi-Ethnic Study of (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in
Atherosclerosis (MESA).17 Participants were excluded if they meters squared), blood pressure, lipid profile, medication use,
had CVD at baseline, self-reported energy intake less than and medical conditions. These details have been described else-
500 kcal per day or greater than 6000 kcal per day, or had where for each cohort.11-17 The earliest baseline date was March
missing data for any of the study variables. 25, 1985. Race/ethnicity was self-reported and dichotomized

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

as black and nonblack for subgroup analysis (race/ethnicity foods were major determinants for the associations, eggs, pro-
breakdown of participants: white [62.1%], black [31.1%], cessed meat, unprocessed red meat, fish, poultry, and total
Hispanic [4.4%], Chinese [2.4%]). dairy products were adjusted individually or in combination.
For the associations of egg consumption with incident CVD and
Statistical Analysis all-cause mortality, dietary cholesterol consumption was fur-
Cohort-stratified cause-specific hazard models were used to ther adjusted.
determine the associations of dietary cholesterol or egg con- To further evaluate whether consuming dietary choles-
sumption with incident CVD, CVD subtypes, and cause- terol or eggs within different dietary patterns altered the asso-
specific mortality. Cause-specific hazard models take into con- ciations of dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with inci-
sideration competing risks by removing individuals who dent CVD and all-cause mortality, major food groups were
develop a competing event from the risk set; this technique adjusted in addition to model 2 covariates, either individually
has been recommended for studying the etiology of an asso- or incorporated into 3 scores: the alternate Healthy Eating
ciation in the presence of competing risks. 24,25 Cohort- Index 2010 (aHEI-2010) score,29 alternate Mediterranean
stratified standard proportional hazard models were used for diet score,30 and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
analyzing all-cause mortality outcome. Proportional hazards score.31 Cholesterol-containing foods such as meat and fish were
assumption was tested using the Kolmogorov-type supre- removed from calculating these scores. All aforementioned
mum test.26 There was no evidence of violation of the propor- analyses were performed for incident CVD overall, as well as
tionality assumption (P value > .05) except for the associa- separately by event-type (CHD, stroke, heart failure), and for
tion between egg consumption and mortality, which was all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and non-CVD mortality.
corrected by conducting cohort- and sex-stratified analyses. Subgroup analyses were performed for incident CVD and
Models were sequentially adjusted for age, sex, race/ all-cause mortality outcomes by the following variables: age
ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic, Chinese), education (<high (<65, ≥65 years), sex (men, women), race/ethnicity (black,
school, high school, some college or more) (model 1); plus total non-black), smoking status (never, former, current), weight
energy, smoking status (current, former, never), smoking pack- status (normal/underweight [BMI <25], overweight [BMI
years (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, 10-19.9, 20-29.9, 30-39.9, ≥40), co- ≥25-<30], obese [BMI ≥30]), diabetes (y/n; defined as having
hort-specific physical activity z score, alcohol intake (gram), fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL or HbA1c ≥6.5% or taking glucose-
use of hormone therapy (y/n) (model 2); plus BMI, diabetes sta- lowering medications), hypertension (y/n; defined as
tus (y/n), systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medi- ≥140/90 mm Hg or taking antihypertensive medications),
cations (y/n), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, non- hyperlipidemia (y/n; defined as having total cholesterol
HDL cholesterol, and use of lipid-lowering medications (y/n) ≥240 mg/dL or taking lipid-lowering medications), low lipids
(model 3). Model 2 was the primary model because model 3 (y/n; defined as not taking lipid-lowering medications and
risk factors may be in the causal pathway. To increase the ap- having low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol <70 mg/dL
plicability of the study results to the contemporary US popu- or non-HDL cholesterol <100 mg/dL), higher-quality diet
lation, the interpretation was based on consuming each addi- (y/n; defined as consuming a diet with aHEI-2010 score in the
tional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day or half an egg per highest quartile [≥51.5; score range, 0-100]), high–saturated
day (equivalent to consumption of 1 egg 3-4 times per week fat diet (y/n; defined as percent of energy consumed from
or total consumption of 3-4 eggs per week) because mean di- saturated fat in the highest quartile [≥ 13.8%]), and low–
etary cholesterol consumption in the United States was 293 mg saturated fat diet (y/n; defined as percent of energy con-
per day27 and mean egg consumption was 25.5 g per day28 sumed from saturated fat <7%). The joint test was used to
based on data from recent National Health and Nutrition Ex- obtain a P value for interaction for examining statistical sig-
amination Survey. One large egg weighs approximately nificance of the difference between subgroups.32
50 g.4 Estimates were also provided based on other units: each An absolute risk difference (ARD) was calculated for each
50-mg per day dietary cholesterol increment up to 600 mg per hazard ratio (HR) derived from the previously described mod-
day and each 1-egg per week increment up to 2 eggs per day. els. Specifically, we used the mean of the included covariates
To test for statistically significant departure from a linear as- and calculated the difference in absolute risk at the maxi-
sociation, polynomial terms were added to model 2. If model mum follow-up time given each additional 300 mg dietary cho-
fit was significantly improved, exposures were converted into lesterol consumed per day or 0.5 egg consumed per day. Three
5-category variables. Otherwise, dietary exposures were in- R packages were used: riskRegression,33 survival,34 and pec.35
cluded as single linear terms on each exposure’s original mea- The bootstrap method was applied to derive 95% CIs for ARD
surement scale. The distributions of dietary cholesterol or egg based on 100 bootstrap samples.
consumption were winsorized at the 0.5 and 99.5 percentiles Six sensitivity analyses were conducted for primary
before modeling. outcomes: (1) events ascertained during the first 2 and 5 years
To evaluate the associations of dietary cholesterol con- of follow-up were excluded; (2) participants were arbitrarily
sumption with incident CVD and all-cause mortality, nutri- censored at 10- and 20-year follow-up; (3) multiple imputa-
ents correlated with dietary cholesterol (saturated fat, unsatu- tion by chained equations was applied to impute missing
rated fat, trans fat, animal protein, fiber, and sodium) were data for study variables36 and events were censored at loss to
adjusted individually or in combination, in addition to model follow-up; (4) any 1 of the 6 cohorts was dropped out of the
2 covariates. To determine if certain cholesterol-containing analyses; (5) cohort-specific quintiles or convenient categorical

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

cutoffs for dietary cholesterol or egg consumption were used; ciation between dietary cholesterol consumption and all-
and (6) subdistribution hazard models were used instead of cause mortality was no longer significant after adjusting for
cause-specific hazard models.24,25 A 2-tailed P value of less than egg consumption (adjusted HR, 1.13 [95% CI, 0.99-1.27];
.05 was used to determine the statistical significance. Be- adjusted ARD, 3.05% [95% CI, −0.59% to 6.70%]).
cause of the potential for type I error due to multiple compari- The associations between egg consumption and incident
sons, findings for analyses of secondary outcomes should be CVD and all-cause mortality were monotonic (P value > .3 for
interpreted as exploratory. All analyses were performed using quadratic egg term; Figure 3). Based on model 2, each addi-
SAS version 9.4 and R version 3.5.2. tional half an egg consumed per day was significantly associ-
ated with higher risk of incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.06 [95%
CI, 1.03-1.10]; adjusted ARD, 1.11% [95% CI, 0.32%-1.89%];
Figure 4A) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.08 [95% CI,
Results 1.04-1.11]; adjusted ARD, 1.93% [95% CI, 1.10%-2.76%];
This study included 29 615 participants with 524 376 person- Figure 4B). These associations remained significant after
years of follow-up data (Table). Mean (SD) age was 51.6 (13.5) accounting for CVD risk factors, dietary fats, animal protein,
years at baseline, 9204 (31.1%) were black, 13 299 (44.9%) were fiber, sodium, or dietary patterns. However, the associations
men. The 6 cohorts differed considerably in terms of sample between egg consumption and incident CVD (adjusted HR, 0.99
size, age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, BMI, and behav- [95% CI, 0.93-1.05]; adjusted ARD, −0.47% [95% CI, −1.83% to
ioral and clinical CVD risk factors, as well as incident CVD and 0.88%]) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.03 [95% CI,
all-cause mortality rates. Overall median dietary cholesterol 0.97-1.09]; adjusted ARD, 0.71% [95% CI, −0.85% to 2.28%])
consumption was 241 mg per day (interquartile range [IQR], were no longer significant after adjusting for dietary choles-
164-350) and the overall mean (SD) was 285 (184) mg per day. terol consumption.
Overall median egg consumption was 0.14 per day (IQR, 0.07- The adjusted HRs (95% CIs), calculated using other incre-
0.43) and the overall mean (SD) was 0.34 (0.46) per day. Par- ment units for dietary cholesterol or egg consumption based on
ticipants’ characteristics, according to 5 levels of dietary cho- model 2, are shown in eTable 5 and eTable 6 in the Supplement.
lesterol or egg consumption are shown in eTables 1 and 2 in
the Supplement. The unadjusted incidence per 1000 person- Subgroup Analyses
years was 10.9 (95% CI, 10.6-11.2) for incident CVD and 11.7 (95% The association between dietary cholesterol consumption (per
CI, 11.4-12.0) for all-cause mortality (eTable3 in the Supple- 300 mg/day) and incident CVD was stronger in participants
ment). The energy-adjusted Pearson correlations between di- with BMI lower than 25 (adjusted HR, 1.25 [95% CI, 1.12-1.39])
etary cholesterol or egg consumption and a range of dietary than in overweight participants (BMI ≥25 to <30; adjusted HR,
factors are shown in eTable 4 in the Supplement. 1.05 [95% CI, 0.95-1.16]) or obese participants (BMI ≥30; ad-
justed HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.26]) (P value for interaction, .03)
Primary Outcomes: Incident CVD and All-Cause Mortality (Figure 5) and stronger in participants without low lipid lev-
During a median follow-up of 17.5 years (IQR, 13.0-21.7; maxi- els (adjusted HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.11-1.28]) than in participants
mum 31.3), there were a total of 5400 incident CVD events with low lipid levels (adjusted HR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.78-1.19])
(2088 fatal and nonfatal CHD events, 1302 fatal and non- (P value for interaction, .04). The association between di-
fatal stroke events, 1897 fatal and nonfatal heart failure etary cholesterol consumption and all-cause mortality was
events, and 113 other CVD deaths) and 6132 all-cause deaths. stronger in women (adjusted HR, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.17-1.41]) than
The associations between dietary cholesterol consumption in men (adjusted HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.06-1.22]) (P value for in-
and incident CVD and all-cause mortality were monotonic teraction, .02) (Figure 6) and stronger in participants who con-
(P value >.1 for quadratic cholesterol term; Figure 1). Based sumed a high–saturated fat diet (adjusted HR, 1.24 [95% CI,
on model 2, each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol 1.13-1.36]) than in participants who did not (adjusted HR, 1.12
consumed per day was significantly associated with higher [95% CI, 1.04-1.21]) (P value for interaction, .046).
risk of incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.09-1.26]; The association between egg consumption (per half an
adjusted ARD, 3.24% [95% CI, 1.39%-5.08%]; Figure 2A) and egg/day) and incident CVD was stronger in women (adjusted
all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.10-1.26]; HR, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.07-1.20]) than in men (adjusted HR, 1.03
adjusted ARD, 4.43% [95% CI, 2.51%-6.36%]; Figure 2B). [95% CI, 0.99-1.08]) (P value for interaction, .009; Figure 7)
These associations remained significant after further adjust- and stronger in participants without low lipid levels (ad-
ing for CVD risk factors (eg, BMI, diabetes, blood pressure, justed HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 1.04-1.11]) than in participants with
and serum lipids), dietary fats, animal protein, fiber, sodium, low lipid levels (adjusted HR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.81-1.07])
cholesterol-containing foods, or dietary patterns with 2 (P value for interaction, .04). The association between egg
exceptions: (1) the associations between dietary cholesterol consumption and all-cause mortality was stronger in
consumption and incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.13 [95% CI, women (adjusted HR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.10-1.23]) than in men
0.97-1.31]; adjusted ARD, 2.79% [95% CI, −0.76% to 6.34%]) (adjusted HR, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01-1.08]) (P value for interac-
and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.92- tion, .001) (Figure 8) and stronger in participants without
1.21]; adjusted ARD, 1.25% [95% CI, −2.65% to 5.15%]) were low lipid levels (adjusted HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.05-1.12] than in
no longer significant after adjusting for consumption of eggs, participants with low lipid levels (adjusted HR, 0.95 [95%
unprocessed red meat, and processed meat; and (2) the asso- CI, 0.86-1.05]) (P value for interaction, .007).

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

Table. Characteristics of the 6 Cohorts Included in This Study


ARIC12 CARDIA13 FHS14 FOS15 JHS16 MESA17
(n = 13 710) (n = 4232) (n = 509) (n = 2953) (n = 2313)a (n = 5898)
Age, mean (SD), y 54.3 (5.8) 25.7 (3.1) 73.4 (3.0) 54.2 (9.6) 49.3 (10.6) 61.4 (9.6)
Sex, No. (%)
Men 6255 (45.6) 1847 (43.6) 174 (34.2) 1342 (45.4) 873 (37.7) 2808 (47.6)
Women 7455 (54.4) 2385 (56.4) 335 (65.8) 1611 (54.6) 1440 (62.3) 3090 (52.4)
Race/ethnicity, No. (%)
White 10 415 (76.0) 2202 (52.0) 509 (100) 2953 (100) 0 2325 (39.4)
Black 3295 (24.0) 2030 (48.0) 0 0 2313 (100) 1566 (26.6)
Hispanic 0 0 0 0 0 1310 (22.2)
Chinese 0 0 0 0 0 697 (11.8)
Education level, No. (%)
<High school 3172 (23.1) 314 (7.4) 136 (26.7) 318 (10.8) 259 (11.2) 1047 (17.8)
High school 4480 (32.7) 1107 (26.2) 199 (39.1) 967 (32.7) 387 (16.7) 1025 (17.4)
≥Some college 6058 (44.2) 2811 (66.4) 174 (34.2) 1668 (56.5) 1667 (72.1) 3826 (64.9)
Smoking status, No. (%)
Nonsmoker 5624 (41.0) 2352 (55.6) 457 (89.8) 2385 (80.8) 1673 (72.3) 2952 (50.1)
Current smoker 3601 (26.3) 1263 (29.8) 52 (10.2) 568 (19.2) 275 (11.9) 771 (13.1)
Former smoker 4485 (32.7) 617 (14.6) 0 0 365 (15.8) 2175 (36.9)
BMI, mean (SD)b 27.7 (5.3) 24.6 (5.1) 26.6 (4.7) 27.3 (4.8) 31.9 (7.3) 28.3 (5.4)
SBP, mean (SD), mm Hg 121.1 (18.7) 110.4 (10.9) 146 (20.6) 125.0 (18.1) 124.4 (15.3) 125.9 (20.9)
HDL-C, mean (SD), mg/dL 51.4 (17.0) 53.2 (13.3) 50.2 (16.6) 50.4 (15.0) 50.5 (13.6) 51.0 (14.9)
Non–HDL-C, mean (SD), 163.9 (44.0) 124.8 (34.0) 169.3 (39.8) 154.4 (38.2) 146.6 (39.2) 143.4 (35.5)
mg/dL
Diabetes, No. (%) 1484 (10.8) 33 (0.8) 49 (9.6) 178 (6.0) 254 (11.0) 729 (12.4)
Antihypertensive 4246 (31.0) 106 (2.5) 219 (43.0) 502 (17.0) 933 (40.3) 2140 (36.3)
medication use, No (%)
Lipid-lowering medication 411 (3.0) 0 30 (5.9) 182 (6.2) 169 (7.3) 948 (16.1)
use, No. (%)
Hormone therapy use, 1385 (10.1) 104 (2.5) 25 (4.9) 304 (10.3) 324 (14.0) 913 (15.5)
No. (%)
Total energy, median 1534 (1189-1960) 2460 (1802-3348) 1676 (1299-2047) 1786 (1413-2233) 1999 (1446-2736) 1515 (1095-2065)
(IQR), kcal/d
c
Eggs, median (IQR), No./d 0.14 (0.07-0.43) 0.42 (0.17-0.87) 0.14 (0.07-0.43) 0.14 (0.07-0.43) 0.32 (0.09-0.65) 0.14 (0.04-0.29)
Dietary cholesterol, 227 (162-312) 384 (259-567) 221 (152-308) 209 (153-280) 306 (196-473) 209 (133-326)
median (IQR), mg/dd
Alcohol, median (IQR), g/d 0 (0-6.2) 4.7 (0.6-13.8) 1.2 (0-13.2) 3.2 (0-13.2) 0.1 (0-1.7) 0.5 (0.1-5.3)
aHEI-2010 score, 40.6 (8.7) 43.4 (11.1) 50.9 (9.6) 45.8 (9.4) 51.3 (10.3) 51.0 (9.8)
mean (SD)e
Incident CVDf
No. of events 3798 212 230 361 118 681
Follow-up, y 236 084 121 092 5831 40 605 22 144 71 562
Rate/1000 person-y 16.1 1.8 39.4 8.9 5.3 9.5
All-cause mortality
No. of events 4089 321 377 368 93 884
Follow-up, y 255 894 122 424 6777 42 405 22 562 74 314
Rate/1000 person-y 16.0 2.6 55.6 8.7 4.1 11.9
d
Abbreviations: aHEI, alternate Healthy Eating Index; ARIC, Atherosclerosis Risk The overall median of dietary cholesterol consumed per day was 241 mg
in Communities; BMI, body mass index; CARDIA, Coronary Artery Risk (IQR, 164-350), and the mean (SD) was 285 (184).
Development in Young Adults; CVD, cardiovascular disease; FHS, Framingham e
Unprocessed red meat and processed meat were excluded from the
Heart Study; FOS, Framingham Offspring Study; HDL-C, high density calculation because they are cholesterol-containing foods. The original version
lipoprotein cholesterol; IQR, interquartile range; JHS, Jackson Heart Study; of the aHEI-2010 score has a range of 0 to 110 points. The aHEI-2010 score in
MESA, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis; SBP, systolic blood pressure. this study had a range of 0 to 100 points due to the removal of the meat item.
a
There were 1570 participants from the JHS who were excluded because they A higher score indicates higher diet quality. There are currently no established
also participated in the ARIC study. cutoffs for defining high or low diet quality based on this score. A score of
b approximately 40 to 50 was considered as poor diet quality according to
Calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
a recent investigation using data from the National Health and Nutrition
c
The overall median number of eggs consumed per day was 0.14 Examination Survey.37
(IQR, 0.07-0.43), and the mean (SD) was 0.34 (0.46). f
Incident CVD events included fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease,
stroke, heart failure, and other CVD deaths.

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

Figure 1. Associations Between Dietary Cholesterol Consumption and Incident CVD and All-Cause Mortality

A Incident CVD

8 4

7
There were 5400 incident
6 cardiovascular disease (CVD) events

Hazard Ratio (95% CI)


and 6132 all-cause deaths (N=29 615
Participants, %

5 participants). Incident CVD included


fatal and nonfatal coronary heart
4 2
disease, stroke, heart failure, and
3 other CVD deaths. Cohort-stratified
cause-specific hazard models for
2 incident CVD and standard
proportional hazard models for
1 all-cause mortality were applied and
included dietary cholesterol, dietary
0 1
0 200 400 600 800 1000 cholesterol squared, age, sex,
Dietary Cholesterol Consumed per Day, mg race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic,
Chinese), education (<high school,
high school, ⱖsome college), total
B All-cause mortality energy, smoking status (current,
former, never), smoking pack-years
8 4
(0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, 10-19.9, 20-29.9,
7 30-39.9, ⱖ40), cohort-specific
physical activity z score, alcohol
6 consumption (gram), and use of

Hazard Ratio (95% CI)


hormone therapy (y/n). The dashed
Participants, %

5 line indicates the cutoff for the


4
95th percentile of consumption
2
(640 mg/d). The distribution of
3 dietary cholesterol was winsorized at
the 0.5 and 99.5 percentiles. For
2 quadratic cholesterol consumption
term for incident CVD, P value = .19,
1
and for quadratic cholesterol
0 1 consumption term for all-cause
0 200 400 600 800 1000 mortality, P value = .83. The hazard
Dietary Cholesterol Consumed per Day, mg ratio (HR [95% CI]) is indicated by the
blue line and blue shading.

Secondary Outcomes: CVD Subtypes (adjusted HR, 1.11 [95% CI, 1.03-1.18]; eFigure 7 in the Supple-
and Cause-Specific Mortality ment), but not heart failure (adjusted HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.996-
The associations of dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with 1.12]; eFigure 8 in the Supplement). The association between
CVD subtypes and cause-specific mortality were monotonic egg consumption and stroke was no longer significant after ad-
(P value for quadratic terms >0.1). justing for dietary cholesterol consumption (adjusted HR, 1.03
[95% CI, 0.91-1.17]).
CVD Subtypes
Dietary cholesterol (per 300 mg/day; adjusted HR, 1.10 [95% Cause-Specific Mortality
CI, 0.98-1.23]) or egg consumption (per half an egg/day; ad- Dietary cholesterol consumption was significantly associated
justed HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.99-1.11]) was not significantly as- with CVD mortality (adjusted HR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.07-1.39];
sociated with CHD in model 2 (eFigure 1 and eFigure 6 in the eFigure 4 in the Supplement). This association was no longer
Supplement). Dietary cholesterol consumption was signifi- significant after adjusting for animal protein consumption
cantly associated with stroke (adjusted HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.09- (adjusted HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 0.91-1.25]), egg consumption
1.46]; eFigure 2 in the Supplement). This association was no (adjusted HR, 1.23 [95% CI, 0.95-1.59]), or consumption of
longer significant after adjusting for egg consumption alone eggs, unprocessed red meat, and processed meat (adjusted
(adjusted HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 0.91-1.57]) or consumption of eggs, HR, 1.13 [95% CI, 0.85-1.50]). Dietary cholesterol consump-
unprocessed red meat, and processed meat together (adjusted tion was significantly associated with non-CVD mortality (ad-
HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.75-1.38]). Dietary cholesterol consump- justed HR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.08-1.26]; eFigure 5 in the Supple-
tion was significantly associated with heart failure (adjusted ment). This association was no longer significant after
HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.05-1.24]; eFigure 3 in the Supplement). This adjusting for egg consumption (adjusted HR, 1.10 [95% CI,
association was no longer significant after adjusting for CVD 0.95-1.26]) or consumption of eggs, unprocessed red meat,
risk factors (adjusted HR, 1.11 [95% CI, 0.98-1.27]) or animal and processed meat (adjusted HR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.88-1.21]).
protein consumption (adjusted HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.91-1.23]). Egg consumption was significantly associated with CVD mor-
Egg consumption was significantly associated with stroke tality (adjusted HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.01-1.15]; eFigure 9 in the

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

Figure 2. Associations Between Each Additional 300 mg of Dietary Cholesterol Consumed per Day
and Incident CVD and All-Cause Mortality

A Dietary cholesterol consumed per day and incident CVD

Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher


Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk
Model 1c 3.25 (1.95 to 4.54) 1.18 (1.12-1.24)
Model 2c 3.24 (1.39 to 5.08) 1.17 (1.09-1.26)
Model 3c 2.60 (1.00 to 4.20) 1.14 (1.06-1.23) See the Figure 1 footnote for
Model 2 plus nutrientsc conditions included in the incident
Saturated fat 4.00 (2.18 to 5.82) 1.21 (1.12-1.31) cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fat 3.91 (1.58 to 6.23) 1.20 (1.11-1.31) definition. There were 5400 incident
Animal protein 1.65 (0.08 to 3.22) 1.10 (1.01-1.20) CVD events and 6132 all-cause deaths
Fiber 3.80 (1.99 to 5.60) 1.20 (1.11-1.29) (N=29 615 participants). Mean dietary
Sodium 2.87 (1.16 to 4.57) 1.15 (1.07-1.24) cholesterol consumption in the
All previous nutrients 2.58 (0.30 to 4.85) 1.15 (1.04-1.26) United States was 293 mg per day.27
Model 2 plus cholesterol-containing foodsc For results interpretation, use model
Eggs 4.20 (0.93 to 7.47) 1.20 (1.05-1.37)
2 as a reference standard (indicated
Unprocessed red meat 2.86 (0.93 to 4.79) 1.15 (1.07-1.24)
by dotted line). Each additional 300
Processed meat 3.03 (1.11 to 4.95) 1.16 (1.08-1.25)
Poultry 2.99 (1.22 to 4.76) 1.16 (1.08-1.25) mg of dietary cholesterol consumed
Fish 3.19 (1.23 to 5.16) 1.17 (1.09-1.26) per day was significantly associated
Total dairy products 3.19 (1.35 to 5.04) 1.17 (1.09-1.26) with a higher relative risk (RR) of
Eggs, total red meatd 2.79 (–0.76 to 6.34) 1.13 (0.97-1.31) incident CVD (adjusted hazard ratio
Poultry, fish, total dairy products 2.92 (1.31 to 4.53) 1.16 (1.08-1.25) [HR], 1.17 [95% CI, 1.09-1.26]) and a
Model 2 plus dietary patternsc higher absolute risk of incident CVD
aHEI-2010 scoree 3.21 (1.28 to 5.14) 1.17 (1.09-1.26) (adjusted absolute risk difference
DASH diet scoree 3.44 (1.76 to 5.11) 1.18 (1.10-1.27) [ARD], 3.24% [95% CI,
aMED diet scoree 3.23 (1.26 to 5.21) 1.17 (1.09-1.26) 1.39%-5.08%]) over the maximum
9 Food groupsf 4.11 (2.40 to 5.83) 1.22 (1.13-1.32)
follow-up of 31.3 years. Each
Model 2 plus time restrictionsc
additional 300 mg of dietary
Excluding events within first 2 y 3.08 (1.06 to 5.11) 1.17 (1.08-1.26)
cholesterol consumed per day was
Excluding events within first 5 y 2.94 (0.99 to 4.88) 1.17 (1.08-1.27)
Censoring at 10-y follow-up 0.89 (0.33 to 1.46) 1.20 (1.09-1.33) significantly associated with a higher
Censoring at 20-y follow-up 2.13 (1.05 to 3.22) 1.18 (1.09-1.27) RR of all-cause mortality (adjusted
HR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.10-1.26]) and a
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.5 higher absolute risk of all-cause
Hazard Ratio (95% CI) mortality (adjusted ARD, 4.43% [95%
B Dietary cholesterol consumed per day and all-cause mortality CI, 2.51%-6.36%]) over the maximum
follow-up of 31.3 years.
Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher a
Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk ARD estimation (see Figure 4,
Model 1c 5.30 (3.63 to 6.97) 1.21 (1.15-1.27) footnote “a” for description). The
Model 2c 4.43 (2.51 to 6.36) 1.18 (1.10-1.26) maximum follow-up time of 31.3
Model 3c 3.69 (1.82 to 5.56) 1.15 (1.07-1.23) years, mean of the included
Model 2 plus nutrientsc covariates, and a difference of 300
Saturated fat 4.62 (2.58 to 6.66) 1.18 (1.10-1.27) mg per day in dietary cholesterol
Saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fat 4.66 (2.23 to 7.10) 1.19 (1.10-1.28) consumption were used.
Animal protein 2.78 (0.84 to 4.72) 1.12 (1.04-1.22) b
Cohort-stratified cause-specific
Fiber 4.71 (2.71 to 6.70) 1.19 (1.11-1.27)
Sodium 4.05 (1.94 to 6.15) 1.16 (1.09-1.24)
hazard models were used for
All previous nutrients 3.28 (1.05 to 5.51) 1.15 (1.05-1.25) incident CVD. Cohort-stratified
Model 2 plus cholesterol-containing foodsc standard proportional hazard
Eggs 3.05 (-0.59 to 6.70) 1.13 (0.99-1.27) models were used for all-cause
Unprocessed red meat 4.12 (2.31 to 5.93) 1.16 (1.09-1.25) mortality.
Processed meat 3.83 (1.73 to 5.93) 1.15 (1.08-1.23) c
Models: see Statistical Analysis
Poultry 4.56 (2.40 to 6.73) 1.18 (1.11-1.26)
section for descriptions of models 1,
Fish 4.57 (2.70 to 6.45) 1.18 (1.11-1.27)
2, and 3.
Total dairy products 4.34 (2.28 to 6.40) 1.17 (1.10-1.25)
d
Eggs, total red meatd 1.25 (–2.65 to 5.15) 1.05 (0.92-1.21) Included unprocessed red meat and
Poultry, fish, total dairy products 4.55 (2.53 to 6.57) 1.18 (1.11-1.26) processed meat (adjusted
Model 2 plus dietary patternsc separately).
aHEI-2010 scoree 4.38 (2.22 to 6.53) 1.18 (1.10-1.26) e
Meat and fish were removed from
DASH diet scoree 4.64 (2.72 to 6.57) 1.19 (1.11-1.27)
e calculating these dietary scores.
aMED diet score 4.43 (2.62 to 6.24) 1.18 (1.10-1.26)
f
9 Food groups f 5.08 (2.93 to 7.24) 1.20 (1.12-1.29) Fruits, legumes, potatoes, other
Model 2 plus time restrictions c vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole
Excluding events within first 2 y 4.20 (1.99 to 6.42) 1.17 (1.09-1.25) grains, refined grains, low-fat dairy
Excluding events within first 5 y 3.54 (1.59 to 5.50) 1.16 (1.08-1.25) products, and sugar-sweetened
Censoring at 10-y follow-up 0.76 (0.42 to 1.10) 1.19 (1.08-1.32) beverages were included. Eggs,
Censoring at 20-y follow-up 2.44 (1.31 to 3.57) 1.19 (1.11-1.27) meat, and fish were excluded (major
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.5 sources of dietary cholesterol).
Hazard Ratio (95% CI) See Figure 4 footnote for aHEI-2010,
aMED, and DASH term expansions.

Supplement) and non-CVD mortality (adjusted HR, 1.08 [95% ciations were no longer significant after adjusting for dietary
CI, 1.04-1.11]; eFigure 10 in the Supplement), but these asso- cholesterol consumption for CVD mortality (adjusted HR,

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

Figure 3. Associations Between Egg Consumption and Incident CVD and All-Cause Mortality

A Incident CVD There were 5400 incident


cardiovascular disease (CVD) events
35 4 and 6132 all-cause deaths (N=29 615
participants). See the Figure 1
30 footnote for conditions included in
the incident CVD definition.

Hazard Ratio (95% CI)


25 Cohort-stratified cause-specific
Participants, %

hazard models for incident CVD and


20
standard proportional hazard models
2
for all-cause mortality were applied
15
and included egg consumption, egg
consumption squared, age, sex,
10
race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic,
Chinese), education (<high school,
5
high school, ⱖsome college), total
energy, smoking status (current,
0 1
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 former, never), smoking pack-years
No. of Eggs Consumed per Day (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, 10-19.9, 20-29.9,
30-39.9, ⱖ40), cohort-specific
physical activity z score, alcohol
B All-cause mortality consumption (gram), and use of
hormone therapy (y/n). The dashed
35 4
line indicates the cutoff for the 95th
percentile of consumption (1 egg/d).
30
For the association between egg
consumption and all-cause mortality,

Hazard Ratio (95% CI)


25
cohort- and sex-stratified standard
Participants, %

proportional hazard models were


20
used to satisfy proportional hazards
2
15
assumption. The distribution of egg
consumption was winsorized at the
10 0.5 and 99.5 percentiles. For
quadratic egg consumption term
5 for incident CVD, P value = .34 ,
and for quadratic egg consumption
0 1 term for all-cause mortality,
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 P value = .48. The hazard ratio
No. of Eggs Consumed per Day (HR [95% CI]) is indicated by the blue
line and blue shading.

0.99 [95% CI, 0.88-1.12]) and non-CVD mortality (adjusted (95% CIs) obtained from subdistribution hazard models were
HR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.97-1.11]), as well as adjusting for animal similar to those obtained from cause-specific hazard models
protein consumption for CVD mortality (adjusted HR, 1.05 (eTable 14 in the Supplement).
[95% CI, 0.99-1.12])

Sensitivity Analyses
Excluding events within the first 2 and 5 years or censoring
Discussion
participants at 10- and 20-year follow-up did not materially Among 29 615 adults pooled from 6 prospective cohort stud-
alter the significant associations of dietary cholesterol or egg ies in the United States with a median follow-up of 17.5 years,
consumption with incident CVD and all-cause mortality higher consumption of dietary cholesterol or eggs was sig-
(Figure 2; Figure 4). Compared with the included participants nificantly associated with higher risk of incident CVD and
(N = 29 615), participants who were excluded (n = 4882) were all-cause mortality, in a dose-response manner.
older (54.4 vs 51.6 years), more likely to be black (42.5% A recent meta-analysis did not report a conclusive asso-
vs 31.1%), and less likely to have an education of some college ciation between dietary cholesterol consumption and CVD,
or more (43.6% vs 54.7%) (eTable 7 in the Supplement). primarily due to the heterogeneity of the available studies
The adjusted HRs (95% CIs) were similar between complete and sparse data.1 As a major source of dietary cholesterol, egg
case analyses and multiple imputation-based analyses consumption has been differentially associated with CHD,
(eTable 8 in the Supplement). Dropping any 1 of the 6 cohorts stroke, heart failure, and mortality. Recent meta-analyses
did not considerably alter the significant associations of showed that frequent egg consumption (generally ≥1 per
dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with incident CVD day), as compared with infrequent consumption (generally
and all-cause mortality (eTable 9 in the Supplement). These <1 per week or never), was associated with significantly
significant associations were similar when the exposure vari- higher risk of heart failure, 10 significantly lower risk of
ables were divided into quintiles or by other convenient cut- stroke,6,8 or no significant association with stroke or stroke
offs (eTables 10-13 in the Supplement). The adjusted HRs mortality,5,7 and higher risk of all-cause mortality (pooled HR

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

Figure 4. Associations Between Each Additional Half an Egg Consumed per Day and Incident CVD
and All-Cause Mortality

A Additional half egg consumed per day and incident CVD

Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher


Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk
Model 1c 1.68 (0.94 to 2.42) 1.09 (1.06-1.13)
Model 2c 1.11 (0.32 to 1.89) 1.06 (1.03-1.10)
Model 3c 1.02 (0.25 to 1.78) 1.06 (1.02-1.09) See the Figure 1 footnote for
Model 2 plus nutrientsc conditions included in the incident
Dietary cholesterol –0.47 (–1.83 to 0.88) 0.99 (0.93-1.05) cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fat 1.11 (0.17 to 2.04) 1.06 (1.02-1.10) definition. There were 5400 incident
Animal protein 0.85 (0.03 to 1.67) 1.05 (1.01-1.09) CVD events and 6132 all-cause deaths
Fiber 1.23 (0.43 to 2.03) 1.07 (1.03-1.10) (N=29 615 participants). Mean egg
Sodium 0.98 (0.14 to 1.81) 1.05 (1.02-1.09) consumption in the United States
All previous nutrients 1.01 (0.19 to 1.83) 1.06 (1.02-1.10) was approximately half an egg per
Model 2 plus dietary patternsc day.28 For results interpretation, use
aHEI-2010 scored 1.09 (0.15 to 2.02) 1.06 (1.02-1.10) model 2 as a reference standard
DASH diet scored 1.20 (0.26 to 2.13) 1.06 (1.03-1.10) (indicated by dotted line).
aMED diet scored 1.10 (0.20 to 2.00) 1.06 (1.02-1.10) a
Absolute risk difference was
Total red meate 1.00 (0.20 to 1.80) 1.05 (1.02-1.09) estimated using 3 R packages:
11 Food groupsf 1.34 (0.46 to 2.22) 1.07 (1.03-1.11) riskRegression,33 survival,34 and
13 Food groupsg 1.24 (0.47 to 2.01) 1.07 (1.03-1.10) pec,35 and 95% CIs were derived
Model 2 plus time restrictionsc from 100 bootstrap samples.
Excluding events within first 2 y 0.93 (0.10 to 1.77) 1.05 (1.02-1.09) The maximum follow-up time of
Excluding events within first 5 y 0.99 (0.14 to 1.83) 1.06 (1.02-1.10) 31.3 years, mean of the included
Censoring at 10-y follow-up 0.34 (0.10 to 0.58) 1.08 (1.03-1.13) covariates, and a difference of
Censoring at 20-y follow-up 0.77 (0.26 to 1.27) 1.06 (1.03-1.10) 0.5 per day in egg consumption
were used.
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2
b
Hazard Ratio (95% CI) Cohort-stratified cause-specific
hazard models were used for
incident CVD. Cohort-stratified
B Additional half egg consumed per day and all-cause mortality
standard proportional hazard
Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher models were used for all-cause
Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk mortality that were further stratified
Model 1c 3.13 (2.17 to 4.09) 1.12 (1.09-1.16) by sex to satisfy proportional
Model 2c 1.93 (1.10 to 2.76) 1.08 (1.04-1.11) hazards assumption.
Model 3c 1.69 (0.79 to 2.60) 1.07 (1.03-1.10) c
Models: see Statistical Analysis
Model 2 plus nutrientsc
section for descriptions of models 1,
Dietary cholesterol 0.71 (–0.85 to 2.28) 1.03 (0.97-1.09)
2, and 3.
Saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fat 1.87 (0.82 to 2.92) 1.07 (1.04-1.11)
d
Animal protein 1.42 (0.54 to 2.30) 1.06 (1.03-1.10) Meat and fish were removed from
Fiber 1.98 (1.21 to 2.74) 1.08 (1.05-1.11) calculating these dietary scores.
e
Sodium 1.80 (0.88 to 2.72) 1.07 (1.04-1.11) Included unprocessed red meat
All previous nutrients 1.50 (0.58 to 2.43) 1.07 (1.03-1.10) and processed meat (adjusted
Model 2 plus dietary patternsc separately).
aHEI-2010 scored 1.89 (1.01 to 2.78) 1.08 (1.04-1.11) f
Fruits, legumes, potatoes, other
DASH diet scored 2.02 (1.08 to 2.96) 1.08 (1.05-1.11) vegetables, nuts and seeds,
aMED diet scored 1.92 (1.11 to 2.73) 1.08 (1.04-1.11) whole grains, refined grains,
Total red meate 1.67 (0.76 to 2.58) 1.07 (1.03-1.10) low-fat dairy products, sugar
11 Food groupsf 2.04 (1.05 to 3.03) 1.08 (1.05-1.12) sweetened beverages, poultry,
13 Food groupsg 1.84 (0.98 to 2.70) 1.07 (1.04-1.11) and fish and seafood.
Model 2 plus time restrictionsc g
Footnote “f” (previous) plus
Excluding events within first 2 y 1.92 (0.92 to 2.92) 1.08 (1.04-1.11) unprocessed red meat,
Excluding events within first 5 y 1.65 (0.62 to 2.69) 1.07 (1.04-1.11) and processed meat.
Censoring at 10-y follow-up 0.32 (0.18 to 0.47) 1.09 (1.04-1.14)
aHEI-2010 indicates alternate
Censoring at 20-y follow-up 1.05 (0.61 to 1.50) 1.08 (1.04-1.11)
Healthy Eating Index 2010;
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 aMED, alternate Mediterranean;
Hazard Ratio (95% CI) DASH, Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension.

1.09, 95% CI [0.997-1.20]).8 No significant association with rent smoking, and unhealthy dietary patterns. 38 Also,
CHD was reported.5-8 Another meta-analysis, which analyzed cholesterol-containing foods are usually rich in saturated fat
all CVD subtypes together, reported a significant positive and animal protein.2 Failure to consider these factors and
dose-response association between egg consumption and others could lead to differential conclusions. In contrast, the
CVD.9 As highlighted by these meta-analyses,1,5-10 residual current study included comprehensive assessment of these
confounding was a potential reason for inconsistent results. factors. Also, the current study had longer follow-up than the
For example, egg consumption was commonly correlated majority of the previous studies and may have provided
with unhealthy behaviors such as low physical activity, cur- more power to detect associations.1,5-10

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

Figure 5. Association Between Each Additional 300 mg of Dietary Cholesterol Consumed Per Day and Incident CVD Among Different Subgroups

No. of Participants Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher P Value for
Subgroup With Event/Total No. Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk Interaction
Age, yc
<65 4516/25 838 2.86 (0.94 to 4.79) 1.18 (1.09-1.27)
.99
≥65 844/3777 3.66 (0.04 to 7.28) 1.18 (1.03-1.34)
Sex
Men 2960/13 299 2.70 (0.08 to 5.33) 1.14 (1.05-1.23)
.051
Women 2440/16 316 5.12 (2.21 to 8.02) 1.26 (1.14-1.40)
Race/ethnicityd
Black 1597/9204 4.04 (0.85 to 7.24) 1.11 (1.01-1.22)
.08
Other 3803/20 411 3.51 (0.95 to 6.07) 1.22 (1.12-1.32)
Smoking status
Never 2139/15 443 4.98 (2.20 to 7.77) 1.25 (1.13-1.38)
Current 1675/6530 2.47 (–1.19 to 6.13) 1.14 (1.03-1.25) .28
Former 1586/7642 3.12 (–0.12 to 6.37) 1.17 (1.05-1.30)
Body mass indexe
<25 1334/10 481 3.19 (0.83 to 5.55) 1.25 (1.12-1.39)
≥25 to <30 2140/10 957 1.75 (–1.34 to 4.83) 1.05 (0.95-1.16) .03
≥30 1926/8177 2.48 (–1.71 to 6.67) 1.14 (1.03-1.26)
Diabetesf
No 4271/26 888 1.87 (–0.13 to 3.87) 1.08 (1.00-1.17)
.15
Yes 1129/2727 1.21 (–5.12 to 7.55) 1.18 (1.05-1.34)
Hypertensiong
No 1615/15 101 1.10 (–0.88 to 3.08) 1.17 (1.06-1.30)
.83
Yes 3785/14 514 4.99 (2.50 to 7.48) 1.19 (1.10-1.29)
Hyperlipidemiah
No 3761/23 088 3.52 (1.57 to 5.47) 1.18 (1.09-1.28)
.99
Yes 1639/6527 3.56 (–1.42 to 8.54) 1.18 (1.06-1.32)
Low lipidsi
No 5150/26 901 4.23 (2.07 to 6.38) 1.19 (1.11-1.28)
.04
Yes 250/2714 –1.09 (–3.40 to 1.22) 0.96 (0.78-1.19)
Eating a higher-quality dietj
No 4427/22 212 2.95 (0.93 to 4.97) 1.15 (1.06-1.24)
.13
Yes 973/7403 5.25 (1.08 to 9.42) 1.26 (1.12-1.41)
Eating a high–saturated fat dietk
No 4064/22308 3.56 (1.27 to 5.85) 1.17 (1.08-1.28)
.84
Yes 1336/7307 2.88 (0.15 to 5.62) 1.16 (1.05-1.29)
Eating a low–saturated fat dietl
No 5056/27 507 3.57 (1.81 to 5.33) 1.18 (1.09-1.27)
.14
Yes 344/2108 6.75 (–4.70 to 18.20) 1.47 (1.09-1.99)

0.7 1.0 1.2 1.4 2.0


Hazard Ratio (95% CI)

b
See the Figure 1 footnote for conditions included in the incident cardiovascular Cohort-stratified cause-specific hazard models were used for incident CVD.
disease (CVD) definition. Adjustment covariates included age, sex, race/ethnicity c
The maximum follow-up time for the older group was 22.8 years. All other
(white, black, Hispanic, Chinese), education (<high school, high school, ⱖsome subgroups used 30 years as specified in footnote “a.”
college), total energy, smoking status (current, former, never), smoking d
Hispanic and Chinese participants were combined with white participants (all
pack-years (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, 10-19.9, 20-29.9, 30-39.9, ⱖ40), cohort-specific
categorized as other) due to small sample size.
physical activity z score, alcohol consumption (gram), and use of hormone
e
therapy (y/n), where relevant. Mean dietary cholesterol consumption in the Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in
United States was 293 mg/d, based on the National Health and Nutrition meters squared.
Examination Survey 2013-2014 data.27 The results can be interpreted using the f
Fasting glucose (ⱖ126 mg/dL) or HbA1c (ⱖ6.5%) or taking glucose-lowering
following sex-specific estimates as an example: in men, each additional 300 mg of medications.
dietary cholesterol consumed per day was significantly associated with a higher g
Blood pressure (ⱖ140/90 mm Hg) or taking antihypertensive medications.
relative risk (RR) of incident CVD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.14 [95% CI, h
1.05-1.23]) and a higher absolute risk of incident CVD (adjusted absolute risk Total cholesterol (ⱖ240 mg/dL) or taking lipid-lowering medications.
i
difference [ARD], 2.70% [95% CI, 0.08%-5.33%]) over a follow-up of 30 years. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<70 mg/dL) or non–high density
In women, each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol consumed per day was lipoprotein cholesterol (<100 mg/dL) among those who did not take
significantly associated with a higher RR of incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.26 [95% lipid-lowering medications.
CI, 1.14-1.40]) and a higher absolute risk of incident CVD (adjusted ARD, 5.12% j
Alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI) 2010 score in the highest quartile
[95% CI, 2.21%-8.02%]) over a follow-up of 30 years. The difference between (ⱖ51.5). The original version of the aHEI-2010 score has a range of 0 to 110
men and women was borderline significant (P value for interaction = .051). points, but the score in this study had a range of 0 to 100 points due to the
a
Absolute risk difference was estimated using 3 R packages: riskRegression,33 removal of the meat item.
survival,34 and pec,35 and 95% CIs were derived from 100 bootstrap samples. k
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat in the highest quartile
A follow-up time of 30 years (not all subgroups had the maximum follow-up of (ⱖ13.8%).
31.3 years), mean of the included covariates, and a difference of 300 mg per l
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat (<7%).
day in dietary cholesterol consumption were used.

The current study found that the significant associations of the diet. These findings are consistent with the evidence that
of dietary cholesterol consumption with incident CVD and all- a reduction of dietary cholesterol intake, in addition to isoca-
cause mortality were independent of fat amount and quality loric replacement of saturated fat by unsaturated fat, was

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

Figure 6. Association Between Each Additional 300 mg of Dietary Cholesterol Consumed per Day and All-Cause Mortality
Among Different Subgroups

No. of Participants Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher P Value for
Subgroup With Event/Total No. Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk Interaction
Age, yc
<65 4840/25 838 4.34 (2.41 to 6.27) 1.19 (1.11-1.28)
.72
≥65 1292/3777 4.10 (–1.04 to 9.25) 1.17 (1.04-1.30)
Sex
Men 3376/13 299 3.28 (0.80 to 5.77) 1.14 (1.06-1.22)
.02
Women 2756/16 316 7.51 (4.20 to 10.83) 1.28 (1.17-1.41)
Race/ethnicityd
Black 1832/9204 4.92 (2.02 to 7.81) 1.17 (1.08-1.27)
.90
Other 4300/20 411 4.42 (1.62 to 7.22) 1.18 (1.09-1.27)
Smoking status
Never 2330/15 443 4.50 (1.53 to 7.46) 1.24 (1.12-1.36)
Current 2067/6530 4.49 (0.32 to 8.66) 1.15 (1.05-1.25) .41
Former 1735/7642 4.36 (1.26 to 7.47) 1.18 (1.07-1.31)
Body mass indexe
<25 1915/10 481 3.78 (0.81 to 6.76) 1.24 (1.13-1.35)
≥25 to <30 2352/10 957 4.19 (0.88 to 7.50) 1.11 (1.01-1.21) .13
≥30 1865/8177 6.73 (2.87 to 10.60) 1.15 (1.04-1.27)
Diabetesf
No 4987/26 888 3.87 (1.65 to 6.08) 1.12 (1.04-1.20)
.42
Yes 1145/2727 1.51 (–2.71 to 5.72) 1.17 (1.04-1.32)
Hypertensiong
No 2083/15 101 3.05 (0.57 to 5.52) 1.20 (1.10-1.31)
.72
Yes 4049/14 514 6.90 (3.60 to 10.20) 1.18 (1.09-1.27)
Hyperlipidemiah
No 4418/23 088 4.89 (2.70 to 7.09) 1.19 (1.11-1.28)
.52
Yes 1714/6527 5.59 (1.32 to 9.86) 1.15 (1.03-1.28)
Low lipidsi
No 5706/26 901 6.23 (3.66 to 8.81) 1.19 (1.11-1.27)
.11
Yes 426/2714 –0.97 (–4.49 to 2.55) 1.05 (0.90-1.22)
Eating a higher-quality dietj
No 4991/22 212 6.21 (3.63 to 8.78) 1.19 (1.11-1.27)
.44
Yes 1141/7403 1.47 (–2.63 to 5.57) 1.13 (1.01-1.27)
Eating a high–saturated fat dietk
No 4602/22 308 1.47 (–1.56 to 4.50) 1.12 (1.04-1.21)
.046
Yes 1530/7307 5.93 (2.86 to 9.00) 1.24 (1.13-1.36)
Eating a low–saturated fat dietl
No 5680/27 507 5.66 (3.50 to 7.82) 1.20 (1.12-1.28)
.89
Yes 452/2108 4.36 (–5.7 to 14.41) 1.17 (0.87-1.58)

0.8 1.0 1.2 1.6


Hazard Ratio (95% CI)

b
Adjustment covariates included age, sex, race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic, Cohort-stratified standard proportional hazard models were used for
Chinese), education (<high school, high school, ⱖsome college), total energy, all-cause mortality.
smoking status (current, former, never), smoking pack-years (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, c
The maximum follow-up time for the older group was 22.8 years. All other
10-19.9, 20-29.9, 30-39.9, ⱖ40), cohort-specific physical activity z score, alcohol subgroups used 30 years as specified in footnote “a.”
consumption (gram), and use of hormone therapy (y/n), where relevant. Mean d
Hispanic and Chinese participants were combined with white participants
dietary cholesterol consumption in the United States was 293 mg/d, based on the (all categorized as other) due to small sample size.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014 data.27 The results e
Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height
can be interpreted using the following sex-specific estimates as an example: in
in meters squared.
men, each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol consumed per day was f
significantly associated with a higher relative risk (RR) of all-cause mortality Fasting glucose (ⱖ126 mg/dL) or HbA1c (ⱖ6.5%) or taking glucose-lowering
(adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.14 [95% CI, 1.06-1.22]) and a higher absolute risk of medications.
g
all-cause mortality (adjusted absolute risk difference [ARD], 3.28% [95% CI, Blood pressure (ⱖ140/90 mm Hg) or taking antihypertensive medications.
h
0.80%-5.77%]) over a follow-up of 30 years. In women, each additional 300 mg Total cholesterol (ⱖ240 mg/dL) or taking lipid-lowering medications.
of dietary cholesterol consumed per day was significantly associated with a higher i
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<70 mg/dL) or non–high density
RR of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.17-1.41]) and a higher lipoprotein cholesterol (<100 mg/dL) among those who did not take
absolute risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted ARD, 7.51% [95% CI, 4.20%-10.83%]) lipid-lowering medications.
over a follow-up of 30 years. The association was stronger in women than in men j
Alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI) 2010 score in the highest quartile
(P value for interaction = .02). (ⱖ51.5). The original version of the aHEI-2010 score has a range of 0 to 110
a
Absolute risk difference was estimated using 3 R packages: riskRegression,33 points, but the score in this study had a range of 0 to 100 points due to the
survival,34 and pec,35 and 95% CIs were derived from 100 bootstrap samples. removal of the meat item.
A follow-up time of 30 years (not all subgroups had the maximum follow-up of k
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat in the highest quartile (ⱖ13.8%).
31.3 years), mean of the included covariates, and a difference of 300 mg per l
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat (<7%).
day in dietary cholesterol consumption were used.

significantly associated with reduced total cholesterol (pri- was fully accounted for by the cholesterol content in eggs,
marily LDL cholesterol) concentration.39 Further, the signifi- which also largely explained the significant association be-
cant association between egg consumption and incident CVD tween egg consumption and all-cause mortality, offering

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

Figure 7. Association Between Each Additional Half an Egg Consumed per Day and Incident CVD Among Different Subgroups

No. of Participants Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher P Value for
Subgroup With Event/Total No. Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk Interaction
Age, yc
<65 4516/25 838 0.94 (0.17 to 1.72) 1.07 (1.03-1.11)
.83
≥65 844/3777 1.76 (–1.45 to 4.97) 1.06 (0.96-1.17)
Sex
Men 2960/13 299 1.02 (–0.34 to 2.38) 1.03 (0.99-1.08)
.009
Women 2440/16 316 1.86 (0.62 to 3.10) 1.13 (1.07-1.20)
Race/ethnicityd
Black 1597/9204 1.44 (0.20 to 2.67) 1.05 (0.99-1.10)
.47
Other 3803/20 411 1.22 (0.02 to 2.43) 1.07 (1.02-1.12)
Smoking status
Never 2139/15 443 2.02 (0.69 to 3.35) 1.12 (1.06-1.18)
Current 1675/6530 0.61 (–0.96 to 2.17) 1.03 (0.98-1.09) .10
Former 1586/7642 0.90 (–0.62 to 2.42) 1.05 (0.99-1.11)
Body mass indexe
<25 1334/10 481 1.15 (0.10 to 2.21) 1.10 (1.04-1.17)
≥25 to <30 2140/10 957 0.80 (–0.76 to 2.37) 1.02 (0.97-1.08) .17
≥30 1926/8177 0.83 (–0.96 to 2.62) 1.06 (1.00-1.12)
Diabetesf
No 4271/26 888 0.45 (–0.43 to 1.34) 1.02 (0.98-1.06)
.07
Yes 1129/2727 1.48 (–0.82 to 3.77) 1.09 (1.03-1.17)
Hypertensiong
No 1615/15 101 0.50 (–0.51 to 1.51) 1.06 (1.00-1.12)
.76
Yes 3785/14 514 1.71 (0.48 to 2.95) 1.07 (1.03-1.11)
Hyperlipidemiah
No 3761/23 088 1.39 (0.49 to 2.18) 1.07 (1.03-1.11)
.63
Yes 1639/6527 0.84 (–1.56 to 3.24) 1.05 (0.99-1.12)
Low lipidsi
No 5150/26 901 1.49 (0.52 to 2.46) 1.07 (1.04-1.11)
.04
Yes 250/2714 –0.52 (–1.71 to 0.62) 0.93 (0.81-1.07)
Eating a higher-quality dietj
No 4427/22 212 1.06 (0.14 to 1.97) 1.05 (1.02-1.09)
.25
Yes 973/7403 2.11 (–0.08 to 4.29) 1.11 (1.02-1.20)
Eating a high–saturated fat dietk
No 4064/22 308 1.10 (0.004 to 2.20) 1.05 (1.01-1.09)
.49
Yes 1336/7307 1.07 (–0.30 to 2.43) 1.07 (1.02-1.13)
Eating a low–saturated fat dietl
No 5056/27 507 1.22 (0.45 to 1.99) 1.06 (1.02-1.10)
.39
Yes 344/2108 1.15 (–4.56 to 6.86) 1.16 (0.95-1.41)

0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4


Hazard Ratio (95% CI)

b
See the Figure 1 footnote for conditions included in the incident cardiovascular Cohort-stratified cause-specific hazard models were used for incident CVD.
disease (CVD) definition. Adjustment covariates included age, sex, c
The maximum follow-up time for the older group was 22.8 years. All other
race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic, Chinese), education (<high school, high subgroups used 30 years as specified in footnote “a.”
school, ⱖsome college), total energy, smoking status (current, former, never), d
Hispanic and Chinese participants were combined with white participants
smoking pack-years (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, 10-19.9, 20-29.9, 30-39.9, ⱖ40),
(all categorized as other) due to small sample size.
cohort-specific physical activity z score, alcohol consumption (gram), and use of
e
hormone therapy (y/n), where relevant. Mean egg consumption in the United Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in
States was approximately half an egg per day, based on the National Health and meters squared.
Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 data.28 The results can be interpreted f
Fasting glucose (ⱖ126 mg/dL) or HbA1c (ⱖ6.5%) or taking glucose-lowering
using the following sex-specific estimates as an example: in men, each medications.
additional half an egg consumed per day was not significantly associated with a g
Blood pressure (ⱖ140/90 mm Hg) or taking antihypertensive medications.
higher relative risk (RR) of incident CVD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.03 [95% h
CI, 0.99-1.08]) and a higher absolute risk of incident CVD (adjusted absolute risk Total cholesterol (ⱖ240 mg/dL) or taking lipid-lowering medications.
i
difference [ARD], 1.02% [95% CI, −0.34% to 2.38%]) over a follow-up of 30 Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<70 mg/dL) or non-high density
years. In women, each additional half an egg consumed per day was lipoprotein cholesterol (<100 mg/dL) among those who did not take
significantly associated with a higher RR of incident CVD (adjusted HR, 1.13 lipid-lowering medications.
[95% CI, 1.07-1.20]) and a higher absolute risk of incident CVD (adjusted ARD, j
Alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI) 2010 score in the highest quartile
1.86% [95% CI, 0.62%-3.10%]) over a follow-up of 30 years. The association (ⱖ51.5). The original version of the aHEI-2010 score has a range of 0 to 110
was stronger in women than in men (P value for interaction = .009). points, but the score in this study had a range of 0 to 100 points due to the
a
Absolute risk difference was estimated using 3 R packages: riskRegression,33 removal of the meat item.
survival,34 and pec,35 and 95% CIs were derived from 100 bootstrap samples. k
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat in the highest quartile (ⱖ13.8%).
A follow-up time of 30 years (not all subgroups had the maximum follow-up of l
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat (<7%).
31.3 years), mean of the included covariates, and a difference of half an egg per
day consumed were used.

additional support for the significant associations of dietary cholesterol consumption with incident CVD and all-cause
cholesterol consumption with incident CVD and all-cause mortality were no longer significant after accounting for egg,
mortality. Although the significant associations of dietary unprocessed red meat, and processed meat consumption,

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

Figure 8. Association Between Each Additional Half an Egg Consumed per Day and All-Cause Mortality Among Different Subgroups

No. of Participants Absolute Risk Hazard Ratio Lower Higher P Value for
Subgroup With Event/Total No. Difference, % (95% CI)a (95% CI)b Risk Risk Interaction
Age, yc
<65 4840/25 838 1.74 (0.95 to 2.53) 1.09 (1.06-1.13)
.32
≥65 1292/3777 1.58 (–1.55 to 4.70) 1.04 (0.96-1.14)
Sex
Men 3376/13 299 1.35 (0.28 to 2.42) 1.04 (1.01-1.08)
.001
Women 2756/16 316 3.61 (2.12 to 5.10) 1.16 (1.10-1.23)
Race/ethnicityd
Black 1832/9204 2.06 (1.13 to 3.28) 1.09 (1.04-1.14)
.51
Other 4300/20 411 1.81 (0.59 to 3.02) 1.07 (1.02-1.11)
Smoking status
Never 2330/15 443 2.42 (1.03 to 3.81) 1.12 (1.06-1.18)
Current 2067/6530 1.75 (0.05 to 3.46) 1.05 (1.01-1.10) .21
Former 1735/7642 1.82 (0.09 to 3.55) 1.08 (1.02-1.15)
Body mass indexe
<25 1915/10 481 1.19 (–0.20 to 2.58) 1.08 (1.03-1.13)
≥25 to <30 2352/10 957 1.96 (0.31 to 3.60) 1.05 (1.00-1.10) .33
≥30 1865/8177 4.33 (2.17 to 6.49) 1.11 (1.05-1.17)
Diabetesf
No 4987/26 888 1.90 (0.92 to 2.88) 1.06 (1.02-1.10)
.96
Yes 1145/2727 0.94 (–1.24 to 3.12) 1.06 (1.00-1.13)
Hypertensiong
No 2083/15 101 1.75 (0.70 to 2.80) 1.09 (1.04-1.15)
.49
Yes 4049/14 514 2.80 (1.27 to 4.34) 1.07 (1.03-1.11)
Hyperlipidemiah
No 4418/23 088 2.21 (1.11 to 3.30) 1.08 (1.04-1.12)
.89
Yes 1714/6527 2.79 (0.63 to 4.96) 1.07 (1.01-1.14)
Low lipidsi
No 5706/26 901 2.91 (1.89 to 3.94) 1.09 (1.05-1.12)
.007
Yes 426/2714 –0.96 (–2.79 to 0.86) 0.95 (0.86-1.05)
Eating a higher-quality dietj
No 4991/22 212 2.47 (1.41 to 3.54) 1.08 (1.04-1.11)
.69
Yes 1141/7403 1.68 (–0.91 to 4.27) 1.06 (0.97-1.15)
Eating a high–saturated fat dietk
No 4602/22 308 1.68 (0.45 to 2.91) 1.05 (1.01-1.09)
.08
Yes 1530/7307 2.45 (1.16 to 3.75) 1.11 (1.06-1.16)
Eating a low–saturated fat dietl
No 5680/27 507 2.35 (1.34 to 3.37) 1.08 (1.04-1.11)
.44
Yes 452/2108 4.54 (–1.56 to 10.65) 1.16 (0.97-1.39)

0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4


Hazard Ratio (95% CI)

b
Adjustment covariates included age, sex, race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic, Cohort- and sex-stratified standard proportional hazard models were used for
Chinese), education (<high school, high school, ⱖsome college), total energy, all-cause mortality.
smoking status (current, former, never), smoking pack-years (0, 0.1-4.9, 5.0-9.9, c
The maximum follow-up time for the older group was 22.8 years. All other
10-19.9, 20-29.9, 30-39.9, ⱖ40), cohort-specific physical activity z score, subgroups used 30 years as specified in footnote “a.”
alcohol consumption (gram), and use of hormone therapy (y/n), where relevant. d
Hispanic and Chinese participants were combined with white participants (all
Mean egg consumption in the United States was approximately half an egg per categorized as other) due to small sample size.
day, based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 e
Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in
data.28 The results can be interpreted using the following sex-specific estimates
meters squared.
as an example: in men, each additional half an egg consumed per day was f
significantly associated with a higher relative risk (RR) of all-cause mortality Fasting glucose (ⱖ126 mg/dL) or HbA1c (ⱖ6.5%) or taking glucose-lowering
(adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01-1.08]) and a higher absolute risk medications.
g
of all-cause mortality (adjusted absolute risk difference [ARD], 1.35% [95% CI, Blood pressure (ⱖ140/90 mm Hg) or taking antihypertensive medications.
h
0.28%-2.42%]) over a follow-up of 30 years. In women, each additional half Total cholesterol (ⱖ240 mg/dL) or taking lipid-lowering medications.
an egg consumed per day was significantly associated with a higher RR of i
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<70 mg/dL) or non–high density
all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.10-1.23]) and a higher absolute lipoprotein cholesterol (<100 mg/dL) among those who did not take
risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted ARD, 3.61% [95% CI, 2.12%-5.10%]) over lipid-lowering medications.
a follow-up of 30 years. The association was stronger in women than in men j
Alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI) 2010 score in the highest quartile
(P value for interaction = .001). (ⱖ51.5). The original version of the aHEI-2010 score has a range of 0 to 110
a
Absolute risk difference was estimated using 3 R packages: riskRegression,33 points, but the score in this study had a range of 0 to 100 points due to the
survival,34 and pec,35 and 95% CIs were derived from 100 bootstrap samples. removal of the meat item.
A follow-up time of 30 years (not all subgroups had the maximum follow-up of k
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat in the highest quartile (ⱖ13.8%).
31.3 years), mean of the included covariates, and a difference of half an egg per l
Percent of energy consumed from saturated fat (<7%).
day consumed were used.

it remains unclear if cholesterol from these foods is more harm- from other foods may not be sufficient to materially modify
ful than other cholesterol-containing foods. Statistically, the associations. Egg consumption contributed 25% to the total
the remaining variation in dietary cholesterol consumption dietary cholesterol consumption and meat consumption

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Research Original Investigation Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality

contributed 42%.27 Mechanistically, eggs and processed or un- more common than malnutrition and underweight. This is
processed red meat are rich in other nutrients such as cho- consistent with the evidence that frequent egg consumption
line, iron, carnitine, and added sodium (for processed meat) has been significantly associated with diabetes risk only in
that have been implicated in CVD risk via different pathways. US studies.42
Further, the significant associations of dietary cholesterol or
egg consumption with incident CVD and all-cause mortality Limitations
were similar between participants who consumed a higher- This study has several limitations. First, appropriate interpre-
quality diet and those who did not, suggesting that people may tation of the study findings requires consideration of mea-
need to minimize dietary cholesterol and egg yolk intake when surement error for self-reported diet data. Further, this study
consuming a healthier eating pattern, as recommended by the relied on single measurement of egg and dietary cholesterol
Institute of Medicine.40 consumption. Exposure misclassification may be of concern,
The magnitudes of the significant associations of dietary but results were similar when censoring participants at differ-
cholesterol or egg consumption with incident CVD and all- ent time points. Second, all cohorts used different dietary as-
cause mortality were modest but consistent across event sub- sessment tools except 2 Framingham cohorts, which created
types including stroke, heart failure (except for egg consump- heterogeneities for data analyses. This was addressed by the
tion: adjusted HR 1.06, 95% CI [0.996-1.12]), CVD mortality, following: (1) implementing a rigorous methodology to har-
and non-CVD mortality, as well as for subgroups according to monize diet data; (2) performing cohort-stratified analyses; and
age, race/ethnicity, smoking status, CVD risk factors (ie, dia- (3) conducting several sensitivity analyses. Third, residual con-
betes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia), and diet quality. founding was likely, although a number of covariates were ad-
The nonsignificant association for CHD was consistent with justed. Fourth, data were not available for investigating sub-
the literature.5-8 US mean dietary cholesterol consumption of types of CHD, stroke, and heart failure, as well as more detailed
approximately 290 mg per day is higher than the global aver- cause-specific mortality such as cancer mortality. Fifth, gen-
age of 228 mg per day,41 and was relatively stable from 2001- eralizing our results to non-US populations requires caution
2002 to 2013-2014.27 Egg consumption has been relatively due to different nutrition and food environments and chronic
low in the United States, but overall per capita egg consump- disease epidemiology. Sixth, the study findings are observa-
tion increased by 11% from 23.0 g per day in 2001-2002 to tional and cannot establish causality.
25.5 g per day in 2011-2012. 28 The recommendations for
dietary cholesterol and egg consumption from the 2015-2020
Dietary Guidelines, if carried forward in subsequent versions
of Dietary Guidelines, might lead to further increases in egg
Conclusions
and dietary cholesterol consumption in the United States, Among US adults, higher consumption of dietary cholesterol
which could be harmful for prevention of CVD and premature or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of inci-
death. Findings of the current study suggest that cholesterol dent CVD and all-cause mortality in a dose-response manner.
from egg yolk may be harmful in the context of the current These results should be considered in the development of di-
US diet, in which overnutrition and overweight/obesity are etary guidelines and updates.

ARTICLE INFORMATION Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Wilkins HHSN268201300050C), Tougaloo College


Accepted for Publication: February 7, 2019. reported receiving consulting fees from NGM (HHSN268201300048C), and the University of
Biopharmaceuticals (Modest). Dr Mentz reported Mississippi Medical Center (HHSN268201300046C
Author Contributions: Drs Zhong and Allen had full receiving research support from Akros, Amgen, and HHSN268201300047C), contracts from
access to all of the data in the study and take AstraZeneca, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,
responsibility for the integrity of the data and the Luitpold, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Otsuka, and and the National Institute for Minority Health and
accuracy of the data analysis. ResMed; honoraria from Abbott, Amgen, Health Disparities.
Concept and design:Zhong, Van Horn, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Janssen, Luitpold
Lloyd-Jones, Allen. Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders of this
Pharmaceuticals, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, and study had no role in the design and conduct of the
Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: ResMed; and serving on an advisory board for
Zhong, Van Horn, Cornelis, Wilkins, Ning, study; collection, management, analysis, and
Amgen, AstraZeneca, Luitpold, Merck, Novartis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review,
Carnethon, Greenland, Mentz, Tucker, Zhao, Boehringer Ingelheim. No other disclosures were
Norwood, Lloyd-Jones, Allen. or approval of the manuscript; and the decision to
reported. submit the manuscript for publication.
Drafting of the manuscript:Zhong, Van Horn.
Critical revision of the manuscript for important Funding/Support: This study was supported Disclaimer: Dr Greenland, a JAMA senior editor,
intellectual content:Zhong, Van Horn, by a postdoctoral fellowship to Dr Zhong from was not involved in the review of or decision to
Cornelis, Wilkins, Ning, Carnethon, the American Heart Association Strategically publish this article.
Greenland, Mentz, Tucker, Zhao, Norwood, Focused Research Networks (14SFRN20480260;
principal investigator, Greenland). The Lifetime Risk Meeting Presentation: Presented orally in the
Lloyd-Jones, Allen. Robert Levy Memorial Lecture/Lifestyle Young
Statistical analysis:Zhong, Zhao, Ning. Pooling Project was supported by the National
Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Investigator Award Competition in the American
Obtained funding:Greenland, Lloyd-Jones. Heart Association Scientific Sessions; November
Administrative, technical, or material Blood Institute (R21 HL085375) and by the
Northwestern University Feinberg School of 10-12, 2018; Chicago, Illinois.
support:Van Horn, Wilkins, Greenland, Norwood,
Lloyd-Jones. Medicine. The Jackson Heart Study is supported Additional Contributions: We thank the staffs and
Supervision:Van Horn, Wilkins, Carnethon, and conducted in collaboration with Jackson State participants of the Jackson Heart Study.
Greenland, Mentz, Allen. University (HHSN268201300049C and

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Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident CVD and Mortality Original Investigation Research

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