Blood levels of omega-6 fatty acids and coronary heart disease: a systematic review and metaanalysis of observational epidemiology

Abstract

Individual omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), principally linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA), may have differential impacts on cardiovascular risk. We aimed to summarize the up-to-date epidemiology evidence on the relationship between blood levels of omega-6 PUFAs and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Population-based studies determining PUFA levels in blood were identified until May 2021 in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Random-effects meta-analyses of cohorts comparing the highest versus lowest category were conducted to combine study-specific risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Blood levels of omega-6 PUFAs were compared between the CHD case and non-case, presented as a weight mean difference (WMD). Twenty-one cohorts and eleven case-control studies were included. The WMD was −0.71 (95% CI: −1.20, −0.21) for LA and 0.08 (95% CI: −0.28, 0.43) for AA. LA levels were inversely associated with total CHD risk (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.00), but not AA. Each one-SD increase in LA levels resulted in 10% reductions in the risk of fatal CHD (RR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.95), but not in non-fatal CHD. Such findings highlight that the current recommendation for optimal intakes of omega-6 PUFAs (most LA) may offer a coronary benefit in primary prevention. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2056867 .