ISRCTN ISRCTN11663659
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN11663659
Secondary identifying numbers LS-16-60-Feeney-Gibney
Submission date
07/07/2022
Registration date
12/07/2022
Last edited
24/02/2023
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
The aim of this study is to further our understanding of the effect of the cheese matrix on blood lipid (fat) profiles. Previous studies have observed that cheddar cheese consumption can result in a lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). This is thought to occur through the calcium in cheese binding to the fat, reducing intestinal absorption and increasing faecal excretion. This may be specific to the form of the calcium present within the matrix of cheese, but this is not confirmed since other studies have used a variety of dairy foods and their matrices are all different, so it is not possible to test the effect of calcium alone from these studies. This study aims to find out whether increasing the calcium in a cheese matrix will increase the faecal fat excreted compared with a reduced calcium cheese, and the reduced calcium cheese plus a supplement.

Who can participate?
Healthy male volunteers aged 18-35 years with no known metabolic disease and with a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range

What does the study involve?
Volunteers will be given all of their food and drinks for three 2-week periods. They will keep a diary of this and anything they eat additional to what is provided. They will come to the intervention suites at UCD for weight and height measures, and give a blood sample at baseline, before and after each dietary period. During the last 5 days of each 2-week period, they will collect all their stool produced throughout the day, and it will be collected by the researchers once a day (three collection periods in total).

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no known risks or benefits of participating. There may be some discomfort at the site of venepuncture when giving blood samples.

Where is the study run from?
University College Dublin (Ireland)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2016 to May 2018

Who is funding the study?
Enterprise Ireland

Who is the main contact?
Emma Feeney, emma.feeney@ucd.ie

Contact information

Dr Emma Feeney
Scientific

S2.16a Science Centre South
UCD Institute of Food and Health
Belfield
Dublin
Dublin 4
Ireland

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0003-3234-6340
Phone +353 (0)17162247
Email emma.feeney@ucd.ie

Study information

Study designSingle-centre interventional randomised cross over trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised cross over trial
Study setting(s)Other
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet.
Scientific titleEffect of low-calcium and high-calcium cheddar cheese consumption on the excretion of faecal fat – a 2-week cross-over dietary intervention study
Study objectivesConsuming calcium within the matrix of cheese increases faecal fat excretion compared to the same amount of calcium eaten as cheese plus a supplement.
Ethics approval(s)Approved 16/03/2016, UCD HREC (UCD Office of Research Ethics Roebuck Castle University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland; +353 1 716 8767; no email provided), ref: LS-16-60-Feeney-Gibney
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedEffect of cheese calcium on fat excretion and blood lipids
InterventionA randomisation table was used and participants were randomised into a sequence to complete 3 conditions:
1. High calcium cheddar cheese (240 g/day) for 2 weeks
2. Reduced calcium cheddar cheese (240 g/day) for 2 weeks
3. Reduced calcium cheddar cheese (240 g/day) for 2 weeks + calcium supplement

It is not possible to blind participants due to the supplement.

Volunteers will be given all of their food and drinks for three 2-week periods. They will keep a diary of this and anything they eat additional to what is provided. They will come to the intervention suites at UCD for weight and height measures, and give a blood sample at baseline, before and after each dietary period. During the last 5 days of each 2-week period, they will collect all their stool produced throughout the day, and it will be collected by the researchers once a day (three collection periods in total).
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureFaecal fat excretion rates (g/day) measured during the last 5 days of each period.
All samples received are freeze-dried, and each 5-day sample for each participant is pooled and stored at room temperature. Faecal fat analysis, (and faecal fatty acid profiling) is conducted at the University of Aarhus Denmark, using a modified Bligh and Dyer technique for total fat (Bendsen et al., 2008).
Secondary outcome measures1. Fasting levels of Total Cholesterol, HDL-Cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L), triglycerides (mmol/L), Non-Esterified Fatty Acid (NEFA) (mmol/L), C-reactive protein (ng/ ml) and glucose (mmol/L) measured at baseline, and post-intervention for each study condition.
Total cholesterol, HDL, triglyceride, Non-Esterified Fatty Acid, C-reactive protein and glucose concentrations are all determined using a Randox RX Daytona Clinical Chemistry Analyser (Randox Laboratories Ltd, UK).
2. Waist circumference, in cm, and weight in kg measured at baseline and post-intervention
Overall study start date16/03/2016
Completion date24/05/2018

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Healthy volunteer
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
Upper age limit35 Years
SexMale
Target number of participants10
Total final enrolment10
Key inclusion criteria1. Healthy male volunteers
2. Aged 18-35 years
3. Normal range body mass index (BMI)
4. No known metabolic disease
Key exclusion criteria1. Female
2. Aged under 18 or over 35 years
3. BMI outside the normal range
4. Metabolic disease
Date of first enrolment01/04/2017
Date of final enrolment05/03/2018

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Ireland

Study participating centre

University College Dublin
Institute of Food and Health
Belfield
Dublin
D4
Ireland

Sponsor information

University College Dublin
University/education

Belfield
Dublin
Dublin 4
Ireland

Phone +353 17162831
Email nessa.nornoha@ucd.ie
Website http://www.ucd.ie/
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/05m7pjf47

Funders

Funder type

Government

Enterprise Ireland
Government organisation / National government
Location
Ireland

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date01/09/2022
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot expected to be made available
Publication and dissemination planPublication planned in a high-impact journal
IPD sharing planParticipant level data will not be available for sharing as per the data sharing statement in the ethics application

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article 23/02/2023 24/02/2023 Yes No

Editorial Notes

24/02/2023: Publication reference added.
12/07/2022: Trial's existence confirmed by UCD Dublin.