•There is much debate about the role of dietary cholesterol in people’s health.

•An increasing number of studies into dietary cholesterol have funding from the food industry.

•A new review identifies an association between studies with food industry funding and more favorable interpretations of the role of egg cholesterol in human health.

In a systematic review, researchers looked at how authors of industry- and non-industry-funded studies interpret the results of research on egg consumption and blood cholesterol levels.

The study, which appears in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, found that the authors behind studies funded by industry were more likely to interpret results regarding the relationship between egg consumption and cholesterol favorably — and often not in line with what the data suggested.

Cholesterol controversy
In the past, scientists have recommended that people consume under 300 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol each day to maintain good cardiovascular health.

However, more recent research has not found a significant relationship between dietary cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

As a consequence, recent guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology have not specified a target for daily dietary cholesterol intake.

Nonetheless, there has been “intense debate” regarding the role that consuming eggs might play in increasing blood cholesterol levels. On the one hand, eggs are a major source of dietary cholesterol. On the other, they are a cheap, nutritious, and widely available food item.

Systematic review
In the recent study, the researchers wanted to understand how funding sources for research into egg consumption and blood cholesterol levels have changed over time.

They also wanted to know whether or not the source of funding for studies — that is, either industry or non-industry — made a difference in how researchers interpreted the results.

Read more- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cholesterol-research-does-industry-funding-skew-results