Table 1.
Subject Characteristics at Baseline
| Control | DHA Supplemented | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Male | Female | All | Male | Female | |||||||
| N | 162 | 162 | ||||||||||
| Sex,* %, n | 40 | 65 | 60 | 97 | 34 | 55 | 66 | 107 | ||||
| Age, y | 27.6 | 4.7 | 29.0 | 4.6 | 26.6 | 4.5 | 28.2 | 4.8 | 28.8 | 4.8 | 27.9 | 4.7 |
| Social class* | ||||||||||||
| Manual, %, n | 42 | 68 | 35 | 23 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 71 | 54 | 30 | 38 | 41 |
| Nonmanual, %, n | 58 | 94 | 65 | 42 | 54 | 52 | 56 | 91 | 45 | 25 | 62 | 66 |
| Current smoker,* %, n | 14 | 23 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 15 |
| Weight, kg | 68.9 | 13.4 | 76.7 | 11.7 | 63.7 | 11.9 | 67.4 | 14.1 | 75.1 | 9.8 | 63.5 | 14.4 |
| Height, cm | 170.5 | 9.3 | 177.9 | 8.0 | 165.6 | 6.5 | 168.9 | 9.0 | 176.7 | 6.6 | 165.0 | 7.4 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 23.6 | 3.5 | 24.2 | 2.8 | 23.2 | 3.9 | 23.6 | 4.3 | 24.1 | 3.2 | 23.3 | 4.8 |
| Sum skinfold,†‡ mm | 48.4 | 39 | 42.3 | 39 | 53.0 | 36 | 46.4 | 43 | 38.7 | 43 | 51.0 | 41 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 77.5 | 9.7 | 83.6 | 8.0 | 73.4 | 8.5 | 77.1 | 10.6 | 83.0 | 8.4 | 74.0 | 10.3 |
| Waist:hip ratio | 0.8 | 0.07 | 0.8 | 0.05 | 0.7 | 0.05 | 0.8 | 0.07 | 0.8 | 0.06 | 0.8 | 0.05 |
| Blood pressure, mm Hg | ||||||||||||
| Systolic | 113 | 11 | 118 | 10 | 109 | 10 | 111 | 11 | 114 | 8 | 109 | 11 |
| Diastolic | 67 | 8 | 69 | 8 | 65 | 7 | 67 | 8 | 68 | 7 | 66 | 8 |
| Mean arterial | 84 | 9 | 88 | 9 | 81 | 8 | 83 | 8 | 86 | 6 | 82 | 9 |
| Pulse pressure | 46 | 6 | 49 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 47 | 6 | 44 | 6 |
| Resting heart rate, beats/min | 66 | 9 | 65 | 10 | 67 | 8 | 66 | 10 | 63 | 8 | 67 | 10 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 4.2 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 0.8 |
| LDL cholesterol, mmol/L | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 |
| HDL cholesterol, mmol/L | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| VLDL cholesterol,† mmol/L | 0.4 | 50 | 0.4 | 56 | 0.4 | 46 | 0.4 | 50 | 0.4 | 55 | 0.4 | 46 |
| Total:HDL cholesterol ratio | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.9 |
| LDL:HDL cholesterol ratio | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Triglyceride,† mmol/L | 0.8 | 50 | 0.9 | 55 | 0.8 | 46 | 0.9 | 50 | 0.9 | 55 | 0.8 | 46 |
| Glucose, mmol/L | 4.8 | 0.5 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 0.5 |
| Insulin,† mU/L | 25.5 | 58 | 24.3 | 58 | 26.4 | 58 | 25.9 | 61 | 23.8 | 58 | 27.0 | 62 |
| Insulin resistance† (HOMA), μm/L | 0.8 | 61 | 0.7 | 63 | 0.8 | 61 | 0.8 | 66 | 0.7 | 64 | 0.8 | 67 |
| CRP,† mg/L | 0.9 | 120 | 0.8 | 108 | 1.0 | 128 | 1.0 | 122 | 0.8 | 126 | 1.2 | 120 |
| Cotinine,† ng/mL | 1.8 | 261 | 2.0 | 280 | 1.6 | 250 | 1.5 | 249 | 1.2 | 266 | 1.6 | 242 |
Data are mean, SD except *% (n) and †geometric mean (coefficient of variation). There is <5% loss of n for some variables. DHA indicates docosahexaenoic acid; LDL, low‐density lipoprotein; HDL, high‐density lipoprotein; VLDL, very low‐density lipoprotein; HOMA, homeostatic model assessment; CRP, C‐reactive protein.
‡Measured at 4 sites: triceps, biceps, subscapular, and suprailiac.