42 healthy older adults (29 postmenopausal women 50-68y, 13 men 60-80y), same 640 mg/d egg-cholesterol randomized crossover design as the Fernandez-lab younger-adult trials (3 eggs/d vs. cholesterol-free egg substitute, 30 days each, 3-week washout). 15 subjects classified as hyperresponders (>2.2 mg/dL rise per 100 mg dietary cholesterol), 27 as hyporesponders. Hyperresponders showed higher LDL-C and HDL-C, a shift to larger (less atherogenic) LDL and HDL particles, and greater plasma carotenoid uptake; hyporesponders showed no significant lipid change.
relevance_note: Extends the responder split to an elderly population — the group with the highest baseline CVD risk stakes — and finds the same “benign hyperresponse” pattern seen in younger cohorts still holds.