Dietary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease in Women: The Finnish Mental Hospital Study
Abstract
A controlled intervention trial, with the purpose of testing the hypothesis that the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) could be decreased by the use of a serum-cholesterol-lowering (SCL) diet, was carried out in two mental hospitals near Helsinki in 1959-71. The subjects were hospitalized middle-aged women. One of the hospitals received the SCL diet, ie a diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol and relatively high in poly-unsaturated fats, while the other served as the control with a normal hospital diet. Six years later the diets were reversed, and the trial was continued another six years. The use of the SCL diet was associated with markedly lowered serum cholesterol values. The incidence of CHD, as measured by the appearance of certain electrocardiographic patterns and by the occurrence of coronary deaths, was in both hospitals during the SCL-diet periods lower than during the normal-diet periods. The differences, however, failed to reach statistical significance. An examination of a number of potential confounding variables indicated that the changes in them were small and failed to account for the reduction in the incidence of CHD. Although the results of this trial do not permit firm conclusions, they support the idea that also among female populations the SCL diet exerts a preventive effect on CHD.
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Differences in patient characteristics and treatment policies other than diet, and in the interventional and conventional diets between the 2 mental hospitals, may have influenced the results.
“In addition, differences in patient characteristics and treatment policies other than diet, and in the interventional and conventional diets between the 2 mental hospitals, may have influenced the results (30), (31).”
From Saturated Fat Restriction for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
Sacks et al. and Mozaffarian et al. included the Finnish Mental Hospital Studies (30), (31), which are non-randomized cross-over trials.
“Moreover, those authors included the Finnish Mental Hospital Studies (30), (31), which are non-randomized cross-over trials.”
From Saturated Fat Restriction for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
Most of the Finnish Mental Hospital Studies were non-randomized and did not follow a cross-over design.
“Most of these studies were non-randomized and did not follow a cross-over design (30), (31).”
From Saturated Fat Restriction for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
The Finnish Mental Hospital Studies were excluded from the present study because they were non-randomized cross-over trials.
“However, the Finnish Mental Hospital Studies (30), (31), which were included in the analysis by Mozaffarian et al. (26), were excluded from the present study because they were non-randomized cross-over trials.”
From Saturated Fat Restriction for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
In the Finnish Mental Hospital Study involving female subjects, only 20.6% (122 of 591) remained hospitalized during both periods.
“In a study involving female subjects, only 20.6% (122 of 591) remained hospitalized during both periods (31).”
From Saturated Fat Restriction for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
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- Authors
- MIETTINEN, M., TURPEINEN, O., KARVONEN, M., PEKKARINEN, M., PAAVILAINEN, E., & ELOSUO, R.
- Affiliations
- Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (FI)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FI)
- Kellokoski Hospital (FI)
- Corresponding author
- TURPEINEN, O.
- Venue
- International Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1983-03-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 17-25
- ISSN
- 0300-5771 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3685
- OpenAlex
- W2171176474
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 9 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 1.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors
- Keywords
- coronary artery disease, dietary prevention, women, saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, serum cholesterol, coronary death, electrocardiographic changes, mental hospital patients, confounding variables
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Cholesterol, Dietary, Coronary Disease, Diet, Electrocardiography, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Smoking
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