Effects of plasma fatty acids and desaturase activity on metabolic syndrome in a general population

Abstract

Abstract Background Altered plasma fatty acid (FA) profile and desaturase activities have been associated with several metabolic disease, including MetS. However, their relations have rarely been studied among general population, and no study have included the FA profile in plasma phospholipids (PL) and triglycerides (TG) separately. We investigated the relationship of the FA profile and desaturase activities in plasma PL and TG with MetS, and investigated if there were new characteristics of altered FA profile that could be related to MetS status in a general population. Methods Baseline characteristic data from 850 participants (Male: 50.2%) aged 38-68 years who were recruited in the Lifelines Cohort study in the Netherlands were obtained. Individual FA profile was determined in fasting plasma PL and TG, and desaturase activities were estimated from product/precursor ratios. MetS was defined according to International Diabetes Federation in 2006. Logistic regression and odds ratios (OR) were used to examine these relations with the prevalence of MetS, and possible moderation effect of gender in these relation was also investigated. Results There was 102 people (12%) who had MetS. After adjustment for several confounders, higher tertiles of PL C18:3 n-6, C18:0, C20:3 n-6, Δ6 desaturase (D6D), and TG C14:0, C16:0, C20:0 were associated with an increasing prevalence of MetS, while higher tertiles of PL C18:1 n-7, C24:1 n-9, C20:0, C24:0, Δ5 desaturase (D5D), stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD-18), and TG C24:0, C18:2 n-6, C20:4 n-6, C24:1 n-9, C20:5 n-3, C22:5 n-3, C22:6 n-3, D5D were inversely associated with MetS. Meanwhile, men seemed to be more vulnerable to MetS when having an altered or unfavorable FA profile in both plasma PL and TG. Conclusions It is important to increase w-3 and w-6 essential fatty acids intake and decrease saturated fatty acids intake, and monitoring the D5D, D6D, and SCD-18 desaturases as additional fatty acids biomarkers is of equal importance. Key messages This study have added the evidence that an altered fatty acids profile was associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a general population. The altered fatty acids profile that was associated with metabolic syndrome differed in plasma PL and TG, which requires further study.