Abstract MP42: Dietary Linoleic Acid Intake Is Inversely Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Risk In Three Large Prospective Cohort Studies Of U.s. Men And Women.

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies reported inverse associations between circulating levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk, although whether intake of these fatty acids is associated T2D risk remains to be elucidated. Hypothesis: We examined the hypothesis that long-term intake of n-6 PUFAs, especially linoleic acid (LA), is associated with lower T2D risk. Methods: Diet was assessed using validated food-frequency questionnaires every 4 years in women participating in Nurses' Health Study (NHS, n=83,648) and NHSII (n=88,610), and men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (n=41,771). Incident T2D was identified by self-report and confirmed by a supplemental questionnaire. Results: N-6 PUFAs accounted for 4.7-6.8% total energy on average, and 98% of n-6 PUFA intake was from LA. We identified 18,442 T2D cases during 4.93 million person-years of follow-up. In multivariate-adjusted models, HRs (95%CIs) of T2D comparing extreme quintiles (high vs low) were 0.92 (0.88, 0.97; P trend =0.01) for LA intake, and 1.14 (1.08, 1.20; P trend <0.001) for arachidonic acid (AA) intake. It was further estimated that T2D risk were 6% lower when SFAs (2% of total energy) were iso-calorically replaced by LA intake ( table below). For each 2% energy from LA intake, T2D risk was 17% lower for iso-calorically replacing trans fats, and 4% lower for iso-calorically replacing total carbohydrates, and refined carbohydrates (All P values <0.05). These findings remained after adjusting for baseline BMI instead updated BMI, further adjusting for incident hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, or placing a 4-year lag between dietary assessments and disease incidence. Conclusion: Higher LA consumption is associated with a lower T2D risk, especially when substituting for SFAs, trans fats, or refined carbohydrates. AA mainly comes from poultry and meats, and is associated with higher T2D risk.