Abstract
Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) rates differ markedly between the US and Japan. Fatty acid profiles have been linked to risk for CHD. Few studies have compared the plasma fatty acid composition, including trans fatty acids, in Japanese and US subjects. Methods: Fasting blood samples were taken from healthy older (>age 50) American (n = 76) and Japanese (n = 44) men, and plasma levels of 23 fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography and expressed as a percent of total fatty acids. Results: As expected, plasma levels of long-chain ω3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids, DHA and EPA) were higher in Japanese men and ω6 fatty acids (e.g., arachidonic acid, AA) were lower compared with American men. Plasma levels of the major industrially-produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs; elaidic and linoelaidic acids) were far higher in American men, and levels of the potentially cardioprotective, primarily ruminant-derived trans fatty acid palmitoelaidic acid (POA) were higher in Japanese. Plasma levels of saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids were also higher in the American men. Conclusion: There are multiple differences in plasma fatty acid profiles between American and Japanese older men. The higher levels of DHA and EPA, along with the lower levels of the IP-TFAs, are consistent with the markedly lower risk for coronary heart disease in Japan vs. the US.
Highlights
Higher intakes of industrially-produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFA) [2] and of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are associated with increased risk for Coronary heart disease (CHD) [3] [4], and higher intakes of both the ω6 (n − 6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the omega-3 PUFAs are associated with lower risk of CHD [5] [6]
Of the fatty acids that constituted at least 1% of the total in either cohort, those that are significantly higher in the Japanese men than the US men were: palmitic, palmitoleic, arachidic, EPA and DHA
We found that the long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA were 2 - 3× higher in Japan vs the US
Summary
Some FAs could be modifiable risk factors [1]. Since estimation of dietary intakes of FAs using questionnaires is challenging (because of out-of-date databases, reliance on memory, poor estimation of portion sizes, etc.) many researchers have begun to measure plasma/blood levels of FAs as more objective biomarkers of exposure. The two general classes of FAs for which biomarkers are most strongly linked with intakes are the PUFAs (especially the omega-3 class) and IP-TFAs. Because risk for CHD is much lower in Japan than in the US [7], we undertook this study to compare the FA profiles in Japanese and American men over the age of 50
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