Skip to the main content
Open WellbeingWhat the studies actually measured

Cholesterol and blood fats

Plant Sterolsand LDL cholesterol

All three sources here measured lower LDL cholesterol.

How sure anyone can be

Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

Further research may change this.

The most certain of the three findings here; each record carries its own.

The numbers reported

One source’s range, drawn against its own line of no difference and scaled to its own numbers.

-29-21 mg/dL-14

This range stays on one side of the no-difference line.

Bar the confidence interval — the range the true effect is likely to sit inNotch the number the source reportedLine where there would be no difference at all

Three sources, newest first

What we read is the published abstract, not the full paper, so a blank below may still be printed in the paper itself. A person went through the criteria and recorded which brought the rating down. Their reasons are not on record here.

  • Systematic review, 2014

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    LDL-cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterols and stanols across different dose ranges: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies.

    Ras RT, Geleijnse JM, Trautwein EA. LDL-cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterols and stanols across different dose ranges: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies. Br J Nutr. 2014;112(2):214-219. doi:10.1017/S0007114514000750. PMID:24780090.

    Number reported
    -8 percent change
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    -9 to -7
    Source’s own words
    percent LDL-C relative reduction in plant sterol strata at 2.0-2.5 g/d
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    placebo or control
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Systematic review and meta-analysis
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Systematic review, 2003

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Efficacy and safety of plant stanols and sterols in the management of blood cholesterol levels.

    Katan MB, Grundy SM, Jones P, Law M, Miettinen T, Paoletti R, et al. Efficacy and safety of plant stanols and sterols in the management of blood cholesterol levels. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003;78(8):965-978. doi:10.4065/78.8.965. PMID:12911045.

    Number reported
    -10 percent change
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    Not in the abstract
    Source’s own words
    percent LDL-C reduction at 2 g/d
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    placebo or control
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Meta-analysis
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Randomised trial, 1995 · 153 participants

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Reduction of serum cholesterol with sitostanol-ester margarine in a mildly hypercholesterolemic population.

    Miettinen TA, Puska P, Gylling H, Vanhanen H, Vartiainen E. Reduction of serum cholesterol with sitostanol-ester margarine in a mildly hypercholesterolemic population. N Engl J Med. 1995;333(20):1308-1312. doi:10.1056/NEJM199511163332002. PMID:7566021.

    Number reported
    -21 mg/dL
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    -29 to -14
    Source’s own words
    mg/dL LDL-C change difference versus control
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    control margarine
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Randomised controlled trial
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

What is still missing from these readings

  • One gives no likely range, so how precise that number is is unknown.
  • Two do not say how many people took part.
  • Amount taken — Not in the abstract.
  • For how long — Not in the abstract.

Something nobody wrote down is never a zero and never a guess.

Plant Sterols is not on our to-read list

Plant Sterols is not on our to-read list, so nothing here is set out to read next for it.

Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.

Read next

This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.