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Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 10
Original Research
Association of Ghee Consumption with Lowered CHD History: A Study in
Urban North Indian Adults
Soniya Vyas1, Soumen Manna2, Jayant Kumar3, Hanjabam Barun Sharma4
1,3Department of Physiology, Dr. S. N. Medical College, Jodhpur, India.
2,4Department of Physiology, Himalayan Institute of Medical Science, Dehradun, India.
Corresponding Author’s E.mail: drsoumen.manna@gmail.com
Date of Submission : 28.07.2016, Date of Acceptance : 17.02.2017
Commentary
Ghee has been described in Ayurveda and used in In dian subcontinent, parts of Middle East and Africa as a cooking
medium and for its medicinal properties. In the 1950’s, the emerging evidence in the West linked consumption of
saturated fats to cardiovascular disease (CVD), leading to all international guidelines recommending replacing them
with unsaturated fats. This was unfortunately translated to intake of ghee by doctors in India and was implicated with
rising incidence of CVD. However, no direct studies have been performed to evaluate this association despite a continuing
large consumption of ghee in India. Moreover, even the more recent scientific evidence in the form of meta-analysis are
demonstrating lack of association between saturated fat consumption and CVD, implicating the increased use of trans-
fatty acids, and also differentiating between fats from animal and dairy origins. The current article with a cross-sectional
study evaluating the association of ghee consumption with lipid profile and coronary heart disease in Indian urban
population is a welcome step in the right direction. However, there is an urgent need for a large multi-centr e randomized
prospectively study evaluating the effect of ghee on heart disease and cancers, due to rapidly rising epidemic of these
lifestyle diseases in India.
Dr Tarun K Mittal MBBS, MD, FRCR, MSc (Prev. Cardiology)
Consultant in Cardiac Imagin g and Preventive Cardiology
Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT
Aim
Ghee/clarified butter has often been implicated with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) due to its saturated fatty acids
and cholesterol content. Hence, the study was done to evaluate the association of ghee consumption & history of CHD
among north Indians.
Methods
The cross-sectional study was done in 200 urban adults of India after random selection during the period of 2009 to 2011.
The history of CHD was assessed after dividing the population into 3 groups based on oil (O) & ghee (G) consumption/
month: (Group A) O>1l/month, G<0.5kg/month; (Group B) 01 to >0.5 L/month, G 0.5-1.25kg/month; & (Group C) O
0.2-0.5l/month, G>1.25kg/month.
Results
Total ghee consumed per month had negative correlation with the history of CHD. Logistic regression analysis showed
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 11
Annals Ayurvedic Med.2017:6 (1-2) 10-22
Introduction
The word ghee comes from Sanskrit ‘ghrita’. Ghee is
widely considered as the Indian name for clarified butterfat,
usually prepared from cow’s milk, buffalo’s milk or mixed
milk (1). The International Dairy Federation (1977) defined
ghee as a product exclusively obtained from milk, cream
or butter from various animal species by means of
processes which result in the almost total removal of
moisture and which gives the product a particular physical
structure. The standard ghee contains 96% minimum milk
fat, 0.3% maximum moisture, 0.3% maximum free fatty
acids (FFA) (expressed as oleic acid), and a Peroxide Value
(PV) less than 1.0 (2).
Ghee is widely used in Indian cuisine especially in Punjab,
Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bengal, South India,
Orissa and many other states. Ghee is an ideal fat for deep-
frying because it’s smoke point (where its molecules begin
to break down) is 250 °C (485 °F), which is well above
desired cooking temperatures-around 200 °C (400 °F). In
India, ghee is also considered as a sacred article used in
religious rites (1).
Annual production of ghee in India, amounts to 800,000
tons, the bulk of which is produced by the indigenous
method (3). Ghee is a source of lipid nutrients, fat-soluble
vitamins and essential fatty acids (4). About 70% of the
fatty acids in milk are saturated, of which about 60% are
long-chain fatty acids (5). The monoenes, mainly 18: 1,
constitute most of the remainder, with the dienes and trienes
together only accounting for about 3%. Besides, being a
concentrated source of energy (9kcal/gm), ghee is rich in
vitamin A, D, riboflavin as well as in minerals such as
calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium (3).
The impact of various dietary fats on cardiovascular
disease had been studied extensively using serum
lipoproteins (6, 7). Controlled experimental studies by
different groups had found that people consuming high-
unsaturated fat diets experience negative cholesterol profile
changes and lower cardiovascular risk (8-11). Although
there ar e some study which showed no statistically
significant relationship between cardiovascular disease and
dietary saturated fat or, dairy products (12, 13).
All these studies had almost entirely based on dietary fats
commonly used in western countries. Research on the effect
of ghee on cardiovascular health in Indian population is
limited. Study on healthy young Indian by Shankar SR et
al. indicated that there is no serious adverse effect of ghee
on lipoprotein profile. Consuming ghee at the level of 10%
of total energy intake in a vegetarian diet generally has no
effect on the serum lipid profile of young, healt hy,
physically active individuals (14, 15). Another study on
Indian population by Gupta et al. showed that prevalence
of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men were low, who
consumed more ghee in their diet (16). On the contrary
Ismail J (2004) showed that ghee intake are associated
with premature acute myocardial infarction in South Asians
population (17).
Our study was done with an aim to evaluate association
of total ghee consumption per month with CHD history
and lipid profile among the studied subjects.
Materials and methods
This cross-sectional study was carried out on urban
population of Jodhpur city, Rajasthan, India during the
that the odds of CHD among group C & B were 0.491 & 0.791 times that of group A over & beyond gender respectively.
Conclusions
History of CHD was lowest among the group with highest ghee & lowest oil consumption.
Keywords: Ghee,clarified butter, coronary heart disease, Coronary artery disease, cholesterol, Saturated fat, serum lipid
profile
Vyas Soniya et.al. : Association of Ghee Consumption.....
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 12
period of 2009 to 2011. 628 people aged between 40 to 80
years were interviewed for the amount and type of cooking
fat (ghee and or, mustard oil) consumed and past history
of CHD (myocardial infraction and or, angina) in a house-
to-house survey. House-to-house survey was done in such
a way that about 15-20 houses were covered in each 5km
distance around Dr. S. N. Medical College upto a
maximum of 25km from it. The first 5km distance was
covered initially, then next 5 km and so on.
Out of the total population interviewed, 200 persons (100
males and 100 females) consuming ghee were selected for
the study based on the following inclusion and exclusion
criteria. Inclusion Criteria were: a. age: >40 years, b.
apparently healthy with no health related complaints, c.
non-obese (BMI < 30kg/m2). Exclusion Criteria (risk factor
for CHD) were a. chronic alcoholic, b. chronic smoker, c.
history of diabetes mellitus, uncontrolled hypertension,
deep vein thrombosis, d. low physical activity or sedentary
life style, e. familial history of CHD.
Institutional Review Board and Ethical Committee
approved the study.
The dietary records were obtained in the first house-to-
house visit to collect data regarding amount and type of
cooking fat consumed. The food frequency questionnaire
(24-hour dietary recalls) method was used, subjected to
confirmation by trained dieticians of the institute. The Food
frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a valid tool for the
assessment of dietary habits of Indian subjects (18-20).
Information on disease history such as alcoholism,
hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infraction or, angina
and lifestyle behaviors, including smoking and exercise
were obtained through a self-report system.
Figure 1: Study Design
House-to-house survey:
(Details in text)
628 (40-80 years) people interviewed for amount & type of cooking fat used/month
428 excluded based on inclusion & exclusion criteria
Remaining 200 (100 males, age group : 40-50 & > 60 years) volunteered for the study
History of CHD taken, ECG, Lipid profile done
Divided into 3 groups :
Group A or predominantly Group B or Both Ghee-Oil Group C or predominantly
oil group (n = 75, 35 males) : group (n = 63, 30 males) : Ghee group (n = 62, 35 males) :
Mustard oil used>1 L/month Mustard oil used 1 to >0.5 L/month Mustard oil used 0.2 to
& Ghee used < 0.5 kg/month & Ghee used 0.5 to 0.5 L/month & Ghee used
< 1.25 kg/month > 1.25 kg/month
Analysis
Vyas Soniya et.al. : Association of Ghee Consumption.....
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 13
The total study population was evaluated for following
laboratory tests: (a) Lipid profile [Serum TG, Total
Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol, VLDL Cholesterol, HDL
Cholesterol, TC/HDL Ratio, LDL/HDL Ratio] by using
ELISA. (b) 12 lead ECG were taken to determine old
ischemic events, which were interpreted by specialist in
the field.
To define the role of ghee, the average amount of ghee and
/or mustard oil consumed in a month was determined and
divided into 3 groups (Figure 1): Total 75 subjects (35
male and 40 female) consumed oil more than 1lit/month
but ghee less than 0.5kg/month (group A), 63 subjects (30
male and 33 female) consumed oil 1 L to > 0.5 L/month
but ghee consumption between 0.5kg/month to <1.25kg/
month (Group B) and 62 subjects (35 male and 27 female)
consumed oil 0.2 to 0.5lit/month and ghee >1.25kg/month
(group C). The cut off value for the group division was
according to the previous study in Indian population (16).
Statistical Analysis
Pearson Chi-Square test was used for comparison of the
history of CHD in different age groups, among gender
and in groups with different fat consumption per month.
Whenever the minimum expected count in any of the cell
of contingency tables came to be less than 5, Likelihood
Ratio was evaluated. Correlation of history of CHD with
various variables was evaluated using Kendall’s tau b in
the two gender groups. Binary logistic regression with
history of CHD as dependent variable, and gender and
different fat consumption group as independent variables
was done. Due to multicollinearity, other potential
independent variables were not included in the model. Areas
under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves
were calculated for all the potential positive and negative
predictor variables for CHD occurrence, so as to assess
the best classifier. Cut off values with maximum Youden
Index were chosen, where Youden Index was calculated
as sensitivity+specificity-1. SPSS (Statistical Package for
Social Science) version 20 software was used for data
analysis. Statistical significance was chosen at value of
< 5% for all the analyses.
Results
Out of total CHD subjects studied (n=28, 14%), maximum
were males and belonging to 40-50 year age group (Table
1). There was no statistical significant difference in
frequency of CHD between the two genders and also among
the three age groups studied. Also, the frequency of CHD
was similar among the three groups with different type of
fat consumption per month in both the gender (Table 2).
However, the total ghee consumed per month had negative
correlation with the history of CHD, which was significant
in case of the males (Table 3). And the history of CHD
was found to have significant positive correlation with
total oil consumed per month in addition to the various
lipid profile variables, except for HDL in both the gender
(Table 3). The finding, thus, indicated that the frequency
of CHD was less among the subjects who consumed more
ghee, and less oil per month. This however didn’t indicate
cause and effect relationship.
Logistic regression analysis also showed that the odds of
CHD among predominantly ghee group (group C) was
0.491 times that of predominantly oil group (group A); in
other words, the odds of CHD was lower by 50.9% (odds
ratio or OR=0.491) among predominantly ghee group as
compared to predominantly oil group, independent of
gender (Table 4). Also, the odds for CHD was lower by
20.9% (OR=0.791) among both oil & ghee group (group
B), as compared to predominantly oil group (group A)
over and beyond gender. Independent of type of fat
consumption per month, the odds of CHD was lower by
31.9% (OR=0.681) among the females as compared to
the males. However, both the findings were not statistically
significant (Table 4).
Considering different areas under the ROC curves (AUCs),
LDL by HDL ratio was found to be the best classifier for
Vyas Soniya et.al. : Association of Ghee Consumption.....
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 14
positive CHD history in both the gender, and when all the
studied subjects were considered as a whole (Table 5).
Similarly, HDL was the best classifier for negative CHD
history (Table 6). Interestingly, total oil consumed per
month was a statistically significant classifier for positive
CHD history (Table 5); and total ghee consumed per
month, a statistically significant classifier (except among
females) for negative CHD history (Table 6). This became
also clearer from figures comparing ROC curves of total
ghee consumed per month as classifiers for negative CHD
history (Fig. 1 to 3) in both the gender, and when all the
studied subjects were considered as a whole.
Table 5 & 6 also show the cut off values with corresponding
sensitivity and specificity of different classifiers for positive
and negative CHD history. The cut off value of total oil
consumed per month for positive CHD history was 0.815
L/month for the studied males, females and all the subjects
considered as a whole (Table 5). Similarly, the cut off
value of total ghee consumed per month for negative CHD
history was 0.815 Kg/month for studied males and all the
subjects considered as a whole (Table 6). In the studied
females, total ghee consumed per month was not a
statistically significant classifier for negative CHD history.
Hence, the present study indicated that total oil consumed
per month of less than 0.815 L/month, and total ghee
consumed per month of at least 0.815 Kg/month was
associated with less CHD history.
Discussions
Our results showed: (a) Frequency of CHD was less among
the subjects who consumed more ghee, and less oil per
month. (b) CHD was positively correlated with increased
oil intake, blood level of TG, TC, LDL, VLDL, TC/HDL
and LDL/HDL ratio.
Many resear ch reports had already been shown the
beneficial pr op erties of ghee and her bal mixt ures
containing ghee in the form of decrease in serum total
cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, triglycerides and decreased liver
total cholesterol.
In animal study on Sprague-Dawley outbred rats, which
serve as a model for the general population, showed no
effect of 5% and 10% ghee-supplemented diets on serum
cholesterol and triglycerides. Similarly study by Sharma
et al. on Fischer inbred rats, which serve as a model for
genetic predisposition to diseases showed that 10% dietary
ghee fed for 4 weeks did not increase liver microsomal
lipid peroxidation or liver microsomal lipid peroxide levels.
They also showed that 10% dietary ghee did not have any
significant effect on levels of serum total cholesterol, but
did increase triglyceride levels (21). Study on Wistar rats
AIN-76 model by Kumar et al. also showed that ghee at a
level greater than 2.5% in the diet for a period of 8 weeks
caused dose dependent decrease in serum total cholesterol,
low-density lipoproteins and very low-density lipoproteins
cholesterol, and triglyceride levels (22). In their subsequent
experiment they proposed that ghee in diet caused
significantly increased biliary excretion of cholesterol, bile
acids, uronic acid, phospholipids and thus lower serum
cholesterol levels (23).
Some groups, however, also reported adverse effect of ghee
on animal study. In 1996 study on Male Rattus Norwegicus
rats fed with a diet fortified with 20% weight butterfat (ghee)
(BF) found it potentially more atherogenic than coconut oil
fed rat in terms of serum lipids and Lipoproteins (24).
Randomized controlled trial for a period of 8 weeks on 24
healthy Indian, Shanka r et al. showed ghee has no
significant effect on the serum lipid profile when it is
consumed in <10% of total energy intake as compared to
mustard oil (19). Another study by the same group showed
that introducing ghee as a partial replacement for mustard
oil leads to rise in TC as well as HDL-C levels, so no
significant change in TC/HDL-C ratio. They concluded
that the rise in HDL cholesterol might be due to the
considerable MUFA content of ghee (20).
Similarly, in a randomized clinical trial by Mohammadifard
N. et al. on 206 healthy (20 to 60 years age group) participants
from Iran, showed that ghee significantly reduced the total
Vyas Soniya et.al. : Association of Ghee Consumption.....
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 15
cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in comparison to
hydrogenated oil (25).
Willett WC (2012) reported that trans fatty acids from
partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have more adverse
effects on heart. Modest reductions in CHD rates with
decreases in saturated fat are possible if saturated fat is
replaced by a combination of poly- and mono-unsaturated
fat (26). Recent meta-analysis by Chowdhury R et al.
(2 014 ) clea r ly showed that high cons umption of
polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total
saturated fats are not the cardioprotective diet (27). Dalen
et al. (2014) in their systemic review also concluded that
dietar y fat reduction had a disappointing result in
cardioprotection (28).
In addition to the above literature, our study is supported
by a similar study on a rural population of Rajasthan in
India by Gupta et al. (1997), which showed a significantly
lower prevalence of CHD in men who consumed higher
amounts of ghee more than 1kg/month. Multivariate
analysis confirmed this association (p< 0.001) (16).
The beneficial effect of ghee on CHD may be due to
absence of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) in ghee.
COPs may be the cause of atherosclerotic lesions (29).
Nath et al. (30) reported that ghee contained 0.3-0.4%
cholesterol and when ghee was manufactured and stored
under normal condition it did not contain COPs like
oxidation products. When ghee used for short period of
frying, which is very common practice in India, did not
produces sufficient COPs. However, after 15 min of frying,
oxidized form may start appearing. This may be the reason
why CHD history was less among those who consumed
more ghee & less oil in our study.
In the last two to three decades, ghee has been implicated
in the increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease
(CAD) in Asian Indians living outside India, as well as
upper socioeconomic classes living in large towns and cities
in India (31-33). Cross-sectional surveys in a large North
Indian population (1769 rural and 1806 urban, age group
of 25-64years) by Singh et al. (1996) showed that
prevalence of CAD was higher with higher visible fat intake
in both sexes and in both rural and urban population (34).
However, available data in the literature did not support a
firm conclusion of harmful effects of the moderate
consumption of ghee in the general population. Raheja
(1986) had clear ly pointed out tha t Asian Indians
previously had a low incidence of CHD, although they
had been using ghee in their cooking for generations. The
epidemic of CHD in India had began two to three decades
ago when traditional fats were replaced by oils rich in
linoleic and arachidonic acid (32, 33) as well as trans fatty
acids, which comprise 40% of vanaspati (35). Adulteration
of commercially prepared ghee with vanaspati was also
prevalent in India. In light of this, researchers investigating
ghee should ensure that the ghee used in their experiments
should not be adulterated with vanaspati, which could yield
spurious results.
Conclusions
The above data indicate that male persons who were
consuming oil more than 0.815 lt/month and ghee less than
0.815kg/month were more prone to CHD. And the
increased ghee consumed per month is associated with low
CHD history in both male and female subjects.
The present study suggests that the adverse opinion about
ghee and prevalent of CHD in the medical community may
not be valid. Instead, less history of CHD was associated
with more ghee & less oil consumption.
Limitations
Our study was a preliminary survey to find out the
association of CHD and levels of ghee fractions in both
males and females consuming different types of fats. Study
was having several limitations. Firstly, the sample size of
the study was very small. A well designed, randomized
controlled cohort study of sufficient sample size is needed
Vyas Soniya et.al. : Association of Ghee Consumption.....
Annals of Ayurvedic Medicine Vol-6 Issue-1-2 Jan-Jun, 2017 16
for better evaluating and establishing the cause and effect
relation wit h increased ghee a nd/or decreased oil
consumption with decreased CHD risk.
Secondly, it was just a survey. No subject was investigated
in any laboratory or thoroughly examined in a hospital
setup. Thirdly, to ascertain the fat intake we relied on the
words of subjects. No advanced measurement or, analysis
was done.
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consumption. Int J Cardiol. 1996;56(3): 289-98;
discussion 99-300.
35. Ghafoorunissa G. Role of trans fatty acids in health
and challenges to their reduction in Indian foods.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1: 212-5.
Source of Support : Nil
Conflict of Interest : None
Tables
Table 1. History of CHD in different age groups as per gender and in the two genders
Gender History of CHD Age Group (in years) Total 2, df 2, df
40 - 50 50 - 60 > 60 (p-value)# (p-value)^
Absent 28 25 31 84
(33.3%) (29.8%) (36.9%) (100.0%)
Male Present 7 5 4 16 .995, 2
(n = 100) (43.8%) (31.2%) (25.0%) (100.0%) (.608)^^
Total 35 30 35 100
(35.0%) (30.0%) (35.0%) (100.0%) .664, 1
Absent 34 29 25 88 (.415)
(38.6%) (33.0%) (28.4%) (100.0%)
Female Present 6 4 2 12 .993, 2
(n = 100) (50.0%) (33.3%) (16.7%) (100.0%) (.627)^^
Total 40 33 27 100
(40.0%) (33.0%) (27.0%) (100.0%)
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. # Pearson Chi-Square test between history of CHD & different
age group as per gender. ^Pearson Chi-Square test between history of CHD & gender. ^^Likelihood Ratio. 2 = Chi-
Square & df = degree of freedon.
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Table 2. History of CHD in groups with different type of fat consumed per month as per gender
Gender History of CHD Type of Fat Consumed / month Total 2, df
Predominantly Both Oil and Predominantly (p-value)
Oil (Group A) Ghee (Group B) Ghee (Group C)
Absent 28 25 31 84
(33.3%) (29.8%) (36.9%) (100.0%)
Male Present 7 5 4 16 .995, 2
(n = 100) (43.8%) (31.2%) (25.0%) (100.0%) (.608)^
Total 35 30 35 100
(35.0%) (30.0%) (35.0%) (100.0%)
Absent 34 29 25 88
(38.6%) (33.0%) (28.4%) (100.0%)
Female Present 6 4 2 12 .993, 2
(n = 100) (50.0%) (33.3%) (16.7%) (100.0%) (.627)^
Total 40 33 27 100
(40.0%) (33.0%) (27.0%) (100.0%)
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. Pearson Chi-Square test. ^Likelihood Ratio. 2 = Chi-Square
& df = degree of freedon.
Table 3. Correlation of history of CHD with various variables as per gender
Variables Age Type of Total Oil Total Ghee TG TC HDL LDL VLDL TC/H LDL/H
Group Fat Consumed Consumed (mg/ (mg/ (mg/ (mg/ (mg/ DL DL
(in Consum (L/ (Kg/ dl) dl) dl) dl) dl) (M, F) (M, F)
Years)^ ed per month) month) (M. F) (M. F) (M. F) (M. F) (M, F)
(M, F) month^^ (M, F) (M, F)
(M, F)
History (-.092, (-.092, (.209*, (-.180*, (.209 (.437 (-.466 (.463 (.328 (.495 (.504
of CHD# -0.87) -.087) .250**) (-.155) *, **, **, **, **, **, **,
.215 .443 -.360 .450 .280 .453 .458
*) **) **) **) **) **) **)
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. Kendall’s tau b (r-value given). #History of CHD, 0 = Absent
& 1 = Present, ^Age Group, 1 = 40-50, 2 = 50-60 & 3 = >60; and ^^ Type of Fat Consumed per Month, 1 = Predominantly
Oil, 2 = Both Oil & Ghee, and 3 = Predominantly Ghee. M = Male & F = Female.
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Table 4. Logistic regression model for history of CHD and type of fat consumption per month
Variables B p-value Exp (B) 95% C.I. for Exp (B) Hosmer and Overall percentage
Lower Upper Lemeshow test correctly
2, df predicted
(p-Value)
#Group (0) .406
#Group (1) -.234 .620 .791 .313 1.999
#Group (2) -.711 .179 .491 .174 1.387 .014, 4 86%
^Gender (1) -.383 .355 .681 .302 1.536 (1)
Constant -1.370** .000 .254
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. ^Gender, 0 - Male (reference) & 1 = Female; and #Group, 0 =
Predominantly Oil (reference), 1 = Both Oil & Ghee, and 2 = Predominantly Ghee. B = Beta weights or regression
coefficients, Exp (B) = eB, C.I. = Confidence Interval, 2 =Chi-Square & df = degree of freedom.
Table 5. Area Under the Curve (AUC) of the variables for prediction of having CHD as per gender.
Gender Variables AUC S.E. p-value Cut off value
at maximum
LDL/HDL .983** .013 .000 4.97
TC/HDL .974** .015 .000 6.09
LDL (mg/dl) .943** .027 .000 171
Male (n=100) TC (mg/dl) .913** .039 .000 227.5
VLDL (mg/dl) .809** .067 .000 39.5
TG (mg/dl) .697* .066 .013 104.5
Total Oil Consumed .671* .081 .031 .815
(L/month)
LDL/HDL .995** .005 .000 5.01
TC/HDL .990** .009 .000 6.76
LDL (mg/dl) .985** .010 .000 154.5
Female (n=100) TC (mg/dl) .972** .015 .000 222
VLDL (mg/dl) .796** .077 .001 35.5
Total Oil Consumed .736** .082 .008 .815
(L/month)
TG (mg/dl) .729** .071 .010 97
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LDL/HDL .988** .008 .000 4.97
TC/HDL .980** .009 .000 6.76
LDL (mg/dl) .964** .014 .000 154.5
Combined TC (mg/dl) .939** .021 .000 222
(n=100) VLDL (mg/dl) .806** .050 .000 35.5
TG (mg/dl) .708** .048 .000 99.5
Total Oil Consumed .697** .059 .001 .815
(L/month)
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. Receiver Operating Charactristic (ROC) curve. AUC = Area
Under the Curve, S.E. = Standard Error, and J = Youden Index (J = Sensitivity+Specificity-1).
Table 6. Area Under the Curve (AUC) of the variables for prediction of not having CHD as per gender.
Gender Variables AUC S.E. p-value Cut off value
at maximum
Male HDL (mg/dl) .936** .024 .000 35.5
(n = 100) Total Ghee Consumed (Kg/Month) .655* .062 .050 .815
Female HDL (mg/dl) .881** .043 .000 35.5
(n = 100) Total Ghee Consumed (Kg/Month) .648 .069 .098 1.125
Combined HDL (mg/dl) .890** .025 .000 35.5
(n = 100) Total Ghee Consumed (Kg/Month) .647* .046 .013 .815
* p < 0.05 : significant; ** p < 0.01 : highly significant. Receiver Operating Charactristic (ROC) curve. AUC = Area
Under the Curve, S.E. = Standard Error, and J = Youden Index (J = Sensitivity+Specificity-1).
List of titles for all graphs
Graph. 1. ROC curves for total ghee consumption & total oil consumption per month for prediction of not having
CHD among males (n=100).
Graph. 2. ROC curves for total ghee consumption & total oil consumption per month for prediction of not having
CHD among females (n=100).
Graph. 3. ROC curves for total ghee consumption & total oil consumption per month for prediction of not having
CHD among the total studied subjects (n=200).
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Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Fig. 3
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