Serum lipids
At baseline all volunteers were well treated for dyslipidaemia. Total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoproteins (LDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL) and triglycerides
(TG) were all within the recommended range (TC < 4.0, TG < 2.0, LDL < 2.0 and HDL >0.9; all measured as mmol/L) with no significant difference between groups at baseline.
Total cholesterol did not change significantly between baseline and 12 months or between groups but showed significant changes in response to caloric restriction at 1
month (Supplementary data figure S2). TG decreased significantly with time (p < 0.001) with no treatment effect. HDL increased significantly in both groups with time
(p Z 0.001) with no significant treatment effect. There were no significant changes in LDL. Adjusting for baseline values, there was a borderline significant difference in LDL
cholesterol between the randomized groups at 12 months (2.02 in the HPD and 1.68 in the SPD group p Z 0.049). Statin use decreased in the HPD and increased in the SPD.
When the analysis was confined to those who did not change medication no effect of diet was seen in LDL cholesterol. Non-HDL cholesterol differed significantly between groups at baseline (p Z 0.041). There was a significant change in non-HDL cholesterol with time
(p < 0.005), but no treatment effect when adjusting for baseline (Fig. 3).