Table 1.
Baseline characteristics according to the quartiles of total serum n-6 PUFA concentrations*
| Serum total n-6 PUFA quartile (%) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (<30·14) (n 421) | Q2 (30·14–33·29) (n 421) | Q3 (33·30–36·17) (n 422) | Q4 (> 36·17) (n 421) | ||||||||||
| Variables | Mean | sd | % | Mean | sd | % | Mean | sd | % | Mean | sd | % | P for trend § |
| Age (years) | 53·4 | 4·8 | 53·1 | 4·9 | 52·7 | 5·1 | 52·1 | 5·6 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Education (years) | 8·5 | 3·3 | 8·2 | 3·4 | 8·8 | 3·6 | 9·2 | 4·0 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Income (euro) | 13 022 | 8101 | 14 200 | 9258 | 14 687 | 9419 | 15 400 | 9985 | < 0·001 | ||||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28 .3 | 3·8 | 27·2 | 3·4 | 26·3 | 2·9 | 25·6 | 2·8 | 0·002 | ||||
| Current smoker (%) | 31·1 | 28·9 | 30·4 | 27·5 | < 0·001 | ||||||||
| Leisure-time physical activity (kcal/d) | 128 | 171 | 130 | 160 | 139 | 168 | 162 | 195 | 0·003 | ||||
| Serum C-reactive protein (mg/l) | 2·29 | 3·86 | 2·10 | 3·01 | 2·26 | 3·33 | 1·92 | 3·06 | 0·23 | ||||
| Serum TAG (mmol/l) | 1·95 | 1·18 | 1·26 | 0·55 | 1·06 | 0·44 | 0·91 | 0·38 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Serum HDL-cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1·19 | 0·30 | 1·27 | 0·28 | 1·33 | 0·29 | 1·38 | 0·30 | 0·03 | ||||
| Serum LDL-cholesterol (mmol/l) | 3·93 | 1·01 | 4·08 | 0·99 | 4·08 | 0·97 | 4·06 | 1·03 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 138 | 17 | 135 | 16 | 133 | 17 | 132 | 17 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 91 | 11 | 90 | 10 | 88 | 10 | 87 | 10 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Alcohol intake (g/week) | 99 | 139 | 75 | 122 | 62 | 91 | 54 | 81 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Diabetes (%) | 8·4 | 5·3 | 4·7 | 2·7 | < 0·001 | ||||||||
| Hypertension (%) | 72·2 | 62·4 | 54·4 | 50·4 | 0·01 | ||||||||
| Asthma (%) | 2·4 | 2·9 | 2·4 | 2·9 | 0·58 | ||||||||
| Medication use (%)† | 19·4 | 12·4 | 12·4 | 11·7 | 0·006 | ||||||||
| Energy intake (kcal/d) | 2440 | 626 | 2468 | 682 | 2489 | 585 | 2509 | 599 | 0·10 | ||||
| Carbohydrate intake (g/d) | 249 | 33 | 247 | 32 | 240 | 31 | 236 | 29 | 0·001 | ||||
| Serum n-3 PUFA (%)‡ | 4·73 | 1·95 | 4·86 | 0·96 | 4·96 | 0·92 | 5·08 | 0·97 | 0·004 | ||||
| Serum LA (%) | 20·88 | 2·63 | 25·08 | 1·40 | 27·94 | 1·35 | 32·17 | 2·59 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Serum GLA (%) | 0·30 | 0·11 | 0·29 | 0·10 | 0·28 | 0·11 | 0·28 | 0·11 | < 0·001 | ||||
| Serum DGLA (%) | 1·32 | 0·26 | 1·37 | 0·36 | 1·35 | 0·29 | 1·32 | 0·30 | 0·71 | ||||
| Serum AA (%) | 4·28 | 0·99 | 4·86 | 0·96 | 4·96 | 0·92 | 5·08 | 0·97 | < 0·001 | ||||
Q, quartiles; LA, linoleic acid; GLA, γ-linolenic acid; DGLA, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid; AA, arachidonic acid.
*
Values are means (sd) or percentages. Data were analysed with linear regression for continuous variables and the χ2 test for categorical variables.
†
Antihypertensive and anti-hyperlipidemia medication.
‡
Proportion of all serum fatty acids.
§
P for trend refers to the linear trend across the fatty acid quartiles.