Table 2.
Overview of biomarker studies of alpha-linolenic acid and cardiovascular events published between January 2008 and June 2010
| Study/year | Population | Design | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campos et al. [19••]/2008 | Costa Rica: 1,891 cases with first nonfatal MI and 1,891 population-based controls; matching for age, sex, and area of residence | Case–control study: association of ALA intake from FFQ and ALA in adipose tissue with risk of first nonfatal MI | OR (95% CI) for first nonfatal MI was 0.41 (0.25–0.67) for top vs lowest decile of ALA in adipose tissue, and 0.61 (0.42–0.88) for high vs low ALA intake; associations only present at lower ALA levels |
| Yamagishi et al. [31]/2008 | USA, Minneapolis: 3,575 white men and women from ARIC study, ages 45–64 y | Prospective cohort study: association of plasma ALA with incident heart failure; 14.3 y of follow-up | 195 participants (5.5%) developed heart failure; ALA status (top vs bottom quintile) was not associated with incident heart failure; age- and sex-adjusted HR was 0.99 (0.63–1.53) for cholesteryl ester fraction and 0.97 (0.61–1.54) for phospholipid fraction |
| Warensjö et al. [32]/2008 | Sweden: 2,009 men from ULSAM study, aged 50 y | Prospective cohort study: association of ALA in serum cholesteryl esters with CVD mortality; 30.7 y of follow-up | Multivariable-adjusted HR was 1.10 (1.00–1.21) per 1-SD increase in serum ALA |
| Park et al. [33]/2009 | South Korea: 40 cases of ischemic stroke, 40 cases of hemorrhagic stroke and 40 healthy controls; matching for age and sex | Case–control study: association of ALA in erythrocytes with risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke | Erythrocyte ALA concentrations (area%) in hemorrhagic stroke patients (0.71 ± 0.21) and ischemic stroke patients (0.24 ± 0.03) were not significantly different from controls (0.44 ± 0.05) after adjustment for family history of stroke; inverse association of ALA with ischemic stroke after adjustment for age and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.045). |
| Virtanen et al. [34••]/2009 | Finland: 2,174 men from Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, ages 42–60 y | Prospective cohort study: association of serum ALA with incident atrial fibrillation; 17.7 y of follow-up | 240 men (11.0%) developed atrial fibrillation; multivariable-adjusted HR for serum ALA (compared to Q1) was Q2: 1.26 (95% CI, 0.84–1.89), Q3: 0.74 (0.46–1.20), and Q4: 1.14 (0.72–1.79; P for trend = 0.98). |
| Lemaitre et al. [35••]/2009 | USA, Seattle: 265 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest patients and 415 community members; matching for age, sex, and calendar year | Case–control study: association of ALA in erythrocytes with risk of sudden cardiac death; blood collection immediately after the event (patients) or during interview (control) | Multivariable-adjusted OR over quartiles of ALA in erythrocytes (compared to Q1): Q2 was 1.7 (1.0–3.0), Q3 was 1.9 (1.1–3.3), Q4 was 2.5 (95% CI, 1.3–4.8); association independent of erythrocyte levels of EPA and DHA, linoleic acid, and trans fatty acids |
ALA alpha-linolenic acid; ARIC Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; CVD cardiovascular diseases; DHA docosahexaenoic acid; EPA eicosapentaenoic acid; FFQ food frequency questionnaire; HR hazard ratio; MI myocardial infarction; OR odds ratio; Q quartile; SD standard deviation; ULSAM Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men