Table.

Randomised double blind trials that reported the difference in serum cholesterol obtained from using polyunsaturated margarines with and without added plant sterols or stanols. Trials were parallel group trials unless indicated otherwise

Trial (place)	No of participants in treatment group/placebo group	Mean age (years)	Duration of trial (weeks)	Type	Average daily dose (g)	Placebo adjusted reduction in serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/l)
Westrate et al1 (Netherlands)	80*	45	3.5	Stanol	2.7	0.42 (0.33 to 0.51)
				Sterol	3.2	0.44 (0.35 to 0.53)
Hendriks et al2 (Netherlands)	80*	37	3.5	Sterol	0.8	0.20 (0.10 to 0.31)
				Sterol	1.6	0.26 (0.15 to 0.36)
				Sterol	3.2	0.30 (0.20 to 0.41)
Miettinen et al3 (Helsinki)	51/51	50	52	Stanol	1.8	0.41 (0.29 to 0.53)
	51/51			Stanol	2.6	0.59 (0.47 to 0.71)
Hallikainen et al4 (Finland)	38/17	43	8	Stanol	2.3	0.47 (0.24 to 0.70)
Vanhanen et al5 (Helsinki)	34/33	46	6	Stanol	3.4†	0.33 (0.15 to 0.51)
Gylling et al6 (Helsinki)	22*	51	7	Stanol	3.0	0.53 (0.30 to 0.76)
Jones et al7 (Montreal)	22*	35	1.4	Sterol	1.7‡	0.30 (0.21 to 0.39)
Gylling et al8 (Helsinki)	21*	53	5	Stanol	2.4§	0.45 (0.24 to 0.66)
Jones et al9 (Montreal)	16/16	about 50	4	Stanol	1.9	0.64 (0.06 to 1.22)
Niinikoski et al10 (Finland)	12/12	37	5	Stanol	3.0	0.50 (0.06 to 0.94)
Gylling et al11 (Helsinki)	11*	58	6	Stanol	3.0	0.50 (0.29 to 0.71)
Miettinen et al12 (Helsinki)	9/8	45	9	Stanol	1.0†	0.28 (0.01 to 0.55)¶
	7/8			Sterol	0.8†	0.26 (−0.05 to 0.57)¶
Vanhanen et al13 (Helsinki)	7/8	47	6	Stanol	0.8†	0.28 (0.0 to 0.56)¶
	7/8			Stanol	2.0†	0.54 (0.23 to 0.85)
Plat et al14 (Netherlands)	70/42	33	8	Stanol	4.0	0.36 (0.23 to 0.49)

^*Crossover trial. ^†In mayonnaise. ^‡In olive oil. ^§In butter. ^¶Data from these small trials which tested low doses are combined in the figure.