Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2004 Jan;90(1):107-11.
doi: 10.1136/heart.90.1.107.

The French paradox: lessons for other countries

Jean Ferrières  1
Affiliations
Review

The French paradox: lessons for other countries

Jean Ferrières. Heart. 2004 Jan.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Plot of death rate from coronary heart disease (1977) correlated with daily dietary intake (from 1976 to 1978) of cholesterol and saturated fat as expressed by the cholesterol fat index (CSI) per 1000 kcal. Reproduced from Artaud-Wild et al, with permission.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relation between trends in coronary heart disease mortality rates and coronary heart disease event rates in selected MONICA populations 1985 to 1993 (men aged 35–64 years).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Renaud S, de Lorgeril M. Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart disease. Lancet 1992;339:1523–6. ▸ This reference gives the definition of the French paradox and suggests the inhibition of platelet reactivity by wine may be one explanation for protection from CHD in France. - PubMed
    1. Artaud-Wild SM, Connor SL, Sexton G, et al. Differences in coronary mortality can be explained by differences in cholesterol and saturated fat intakes in 40 countries but not in France and Finland. A paradox. Circulation 1993;88:2771–9. ▸ France and Finland have similar intakes of cholesterol and saturated fat, but consumption of vegetables and vegetable oil containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids is greater in France than in Finland. - PubMed
    1. Richard JL, Cambien F, Ducimetière P. Epidemiologic characteristics of coronary disease in France. Nouv Presse Med 1981;10:1111–4. - PubMed
    1. Evans A, Ruidavets JB, McCrum E, et al. Autres pays, autres coeurs ? Dietary patterns, risk factors and ischaemic heart disease in Belfast and Toulouse. QJM 1995;88:469–77. ▸ The classical CHD risk factors do not explain the large differences in CHD between Belfast (UK) and Toulouse (France), and total fat consumption do not differ between the centres. - PubMed
    1. Kromhout D, Keys A, Aravanis C, et al. Food consumption patterns in the 1960s in seven countries. Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:889–94. - PubMed