Table 3.

Plasma fatty acids^a, by intervention group

	Baseline	P Value2	4 months	P Value2	Change, 0 to 4 months	P for change3	comparison of changes2
Saturated Fatty Acids
myristic acid c14:0		0.29		0.94			0.21
Placebo	0.92 (0.38)		0.91 (0.33)		−0.006 (0.42)	0.93
1.25 g/day n-3	1.0 (0.47)		0.89 (0.33)		−0.14 (0.45)	0.06
2.5 g/day n-3	0.86 (0.52)		0.91 (0.49)		0.054 (0.56)	0.58
palmitic acid c16:0		0.04		0.93			0.07
Placebo	23 (2.6)		23 (3.0)		0.28 (3.3)	0.64
1.25 g/day n-3	24 (2.7)		23 (2.5)		−0.55 (3.2)	0.28
2.5 g/day n-3	22 (2.8)		23 (3.0)		1.2 (3.3)	0.04
palmitoleic acid c16:1n-7		0.33		0.06			0.03
Placebo	1.7 (0.56)		1.8 (0.61)		0.13 (0.59)	0.23
1.25 g/day n-3	1.8 (0.64)		1.5 (0.56)		−0.28 (0.72)	0.02
2.5 g/day n-3	1.5 (0.80)		1.5 (0.60)		−0.012 (0.60)	0.91
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
linoleic acid c18:2n-6		0.005		0.69			0.06
Placebo	30 (3.9)		30 (5.3)		−0.47 (5.5)	0.63
1.25 g/day n-3	28 (4.1)		29 (4.4)		0.7 (4.3)	0.29
2.5 g/day n-3	31 (4.7)		29 (4.0)		−2.1 (5.4)	0.03
gamma linolenic acid c18:3n-6		0.58		0.26			0.08
Placebo	0.45 (0.16)		0.47 (0.22)		0.019 (0.19)	0.57
1.25 g/day n-3	0.49 (0.18)		0.44 (0.18)		−0.06 (0.2)	0.05
2.5 g/day n-3	0.47 (0.13)		0.40 (0.16)		−0.074 (0.17)	0.01
dihomo-gamma linolenic acid c20:3n-6		0.43		0.001			0.0002
Placebo	1.7 (0.36)		1.8 (0.46)		0.12 (0.43)	0.14
1.25 g/day n-3	1.9 (0.40)		1.7 (0.46)		−0.20 (0.40)	0.00
2.5 g/day n-3	1.8 (0.54)		1.4 (0.37)		−0.31 (0.44)	0.0002
arachidonic acid c20:4n-6		0.52		0.64			0.05
Placebo	7.7 (2.7)		7.5 (2.5)		−0.25 (1.8)	0.44
1.25 g/day n-3	7.3 (1.9)		7.2 (1.7)		−0.115 (1.1)	0.53
2.5 g/day n-3	7.9 (2.5)		7.0 (2.0)		−0.95 (1.6)	0.001
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
alpha linolenic acid c18:3n-3		0.26		0.81			0.12
Placebo	0.69 (0.23)		0.68 (0.18)		−0.01 (0.21)	0.78
1.25 g/day n-3	0.76 (0.27)		0.65 (0.15)		−0.11 (0.26)	0.009
2.5 g/day n-3	0.67 (0.24)		0.65 (0.26)		−0.016 (0.23)	0.67
stearidonic acid c18:4n-3		0.45		0.80			0.95
Placebo	0.38 (0.15)		0.39 (0.20)		0.012 (0.25)	0.80
1.25 g/day n-3	0.41 (0.17)		0.44 (0.39)		0.0252 (0.33)	0.63
2.5 g/day n-3	0.44 (0.24)		0.44 (0.36)		−0.0016 (0.44)	0.98
eicosatetraenoic acid c20:4n-3		0.83		0.07			0.50
Placebo	0.17 (0.10)		0.16 (0.08)		−0.010 (0.14)	0.68
1.25 g/day n-3	0.18 (0.09)		0.19 (0.10)		0.01 (0.1)	0.65
2.5 g/day n-3	0.18 (0.08)		0.21 (0.09)		0.027 (0.13)	0.23
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) c20:5n-3		0.52		<.0001			<.0001
Placebo	0.48 (0.17)		0.74 (0.45)		0.26 (0.40)	0.001
1.25 g/day n-3	0.53 (0.21)		1.86 (0.81)		1.3 (0.73)	<.0001
2.5 g/day n-3	0.55 (0.36)		3.42 (1.33)		2.9 (1.4)	<.0001
docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) c22:5n-3		0.19		<.0001			<.0001
Placebo	0.53 (0.14)		0.59 (0.12)		0.056 (0.15)	0.05
1.25 g/day n-3	0.60 (0.13)		1.01 (0.31)		0.42 (0.31)	<.0001
2.5 g/day n-3	0.56 (0.17)		1.19 (0.31)		0.62 (0.31)	<.0001
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) c22:6n-3		0.66		0.0001			<.0001
Placebo	1.5 (0.58)		1.6 (0.64)		0.061 (0.47)	0.47
1.25 g/day n-3	1.4 (0.59)		2.0 (0.70)		0.59 (0.46)	<.0001
2.5 g/day n-3	1.5 (0.62)		2.2 (0.48)		0.71 (0.67)	<.0001
Totals and n-6:n-3 Ratio
Total n-3		0.74		<.0001			<.0001
Placebo	3.8 (0.82)		4.1 (0.93)		0.37 (0.77)	0.01
1.25 g/day n-3	3.9 (0.8)		6.2 (1.6)		2.3 (1.4)	<.0001
2.5 g/day n-3	3.9 (1.1)		8.2 (1.8)		4.2 (2.1)	<.0001
Total n-6		0.01		0.43			0.01
Placebo	41 (5.4)		40 (6.8)		−0.55 (6.2)	0.62
1.25 g/day n-3	38 (5.0)		39 (5.0)		0.27 (4.7)	0.72
2.5 g/day n-3	42 (5.9)		39 (5.1)		−3.6 (5.9)	0.001
n-6:n-3 Ratio		0.07		<.0001			<.0001
Placebo	11 (2.0)		10 (2.8)		−0.97 (2.7)	0.06
1.25 g/day n-3	10 (2.0)		6.8 (2.1)		−3.4 (2.2)	<.0001
2.5 g/day n-3	11 (3.1)		5.0 (1.6)		−6.4 (3.4)	<.0001

Units: Percent of total fatty acids

¹All values are mean (SD)

²ANOVA

³Paired t-tests within group