Total Cholesterol Blood Level Based on Isoflavone and Vitamin E Intake in Hypercholesterolemia

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia is a condition whereby the blood cholesterol level exceeds normal values. Cholesterol in food can increase blood cholesterol level; fat, cholesterol, and antioxidant intake are known to have major roles in the progress of coronary heart disease. This study seeks to determine the correlation of isoflavone and vitamin E intake from foodstuffs to total blood cholesterol level in hypercholesterolemia pationts. The research uses descriptive analytic methods. Isoflavone and vitamin E intake is recorded for 24 respondents through food recall and food frequency questionnaires. Total blood cholesterol levels for these respondents are then obtained from the medical records of Roemani Muhammadiyah Hospital Semarang. This study uses the Rank-Spearman test. The results are that 66.7% of respondents are male, 37.5% are 45-50 years old, 70.8% have ≥ 80 mg intake of isoflavones, but all respondents have <15 mg intake of vitamin E. There is a significant correlation between isoflavone/vitamin E intake and total blood cholesterol level (p-value=0.000, p-value=0.008). Thus, isoflavones and vitamin E intake may affect total blood cholesterol levels.