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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(3):410–416. doi: 10.1080/01635581.2013.760744

Table 3.

Geometric mean (95% confidence interval) breast density according to tertile of erythrocyte PUFA compositiona

Fatty acids (wt %) Percent Densityb P trendc Dense Breast Areab P trendc
n-6 PUFAs
  Total n-6 d 0.26 0.66
    ≤37.28 24.2 (20.6, 28.0) 35.8 (30.3, 41.8)
    37.29–39.49 23.6 (20.2, 27.3) 33.9 (28.7, 39.6)
    ≥39.50 27.4 (23.6, 31.4) 37.7 (32.1, 43.9)
  18:2n-6 (LA) 0.30 0.18
    ≤14.69 27.3 (23.5, 31.4) 38.6 (32.9, 44.8)
    14.70–16.77 23.5 (20.1, 27.2) 36.0 (30.5, 41.8)
    ≥16.78 24.4 (20.8, 28.1) 33.0 (27.8, 38.7)
  20:4n-6 (AA) 0.07 0.16
    ≤15.31 22.8 (19.5, 26.4) 32.1 (27.0, 37.6)
    15.32–16.57 24.6 (21.1, 28.4) 37.9 (32.4, 43.9)
    ≥16.58 27.7 (23.9, 31.8) 37.5 (31.9, 43.6)
n-3 PUFAs
  Total n-3 e 0.36 0.47
    ≤6.68 25.7 (22.0, 29.7) 37.3 (31.6, 43.5)
    6.69–8.42 26.3 (22.7, 30.1) 36.1 (30.7, 41.9)
    ≥8.43 23.2 (19.7, 26.9) 34.2 (28.7, 40.0)
  18:3n-3 (ALA) 0.20 0.25
    ≤0.19 27.1 (23.5, 31.1) 38.3 (32.8, 44.3)
    0.20–0.25 24.2 (20.7, 27.9) 35.4 (30.0, 41.2)
    ≥0.26 23.7 (20.3, 27.4) 33.7 (28.5, 39.4)
  20:5n-3 (EPA) 0.17 0.17
    ≤0.66 25.0 (21.5, 28.8) 36.8 (31.3, 42.8)
    0.67–0.91 29.0 (25.2, 33.1) 39.9 (34.2, 46.0)
    ≥0.92 21.4 (18.1, 24.9) 31.1 (26.1, 36.7)
  22:6n-3 (DHA) 0.58 0.99
    ≤3.67 25.0 (21.4, 28.9) 35.3 (29.8, 41.3)
    3.68–4.93 26.5 (22.8, 30.4) 36.8 (31.4, 42.7)
    ≥4.94 23.6 (20.1, 27.3) 35.3 (29.9, 41.2)
6:3 PUFA Ratios
  Total n-6:n-3 0.12 0.41
    ≤4.47 21.9 (18.5, 25.6) 33.4 (28.1, 39.3)
    4.48–5.73 26.9 (23.3, 30.8) 37.0 (31.6, 42.9)
    ≥5.74 26.2 (22.5, 30.2) 37.0 (31.3, 43.1)
  LA:ALA 0.45 0.57
    ≤64.25 24.7 (21.2, 28.4) 36.0 (30.6, 41.8)
    64.26–78.43 23.8 (20.3, 27.4) 33.3 (28.1, 38.9)
    ≥78.44 26.7 (23.0, 30.7) 38.4 (32.7, 44.5)
  AA:EPA+DHA 0.12 0.23
    ≤2.67 22.3 (18.9, 26.0) 33.4 (28.0, 39.2)
    2.68–3.72 26.3 (22.7, 30.1) 35.6 (30.3, 41.4)
    ≥3.73 26.5 (22.8, 30.5) 38.5 (32.8, 44.6)
a

Abbreviations: PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid; n-6, omega-6; LA, linoleic acid; AA, arachidonic acid; n-3, omega-3; ALA, alpha-linolenic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; and DHA, docosahexaenoic acid.

b

Square root transformation was applied to percent density and dense breast area. Values were adjusted for age (continuous), BMI (continuous), age at menopause (continuous), age at menarche (<12, 12–13, 14+), alcohol intake (none, <12g/day, ≥12g/day), current smoker (yes vs. no), previous breast biopsy (yes vs. no), nulliparous (yes vs. no), ever breastfed for > 1 month (yes vs. no), and past hormone therapy use (yes vs. no). 7 participants were excluded for missing variables.

c

Linear trend tests were performed by treating the fatty acid tertile groups as ordinal variables

d

18:2n-6 + 18:3n-6 + 20:2n-6 + 20:3n-6 + 20:4n-6 + 22:4n-6 + 22:5n-6

e

18:3n-3 + 20:4n-3 + 20:5n-3 + 22:5n-3 + 22:6n-3