Table 1.
Characteristics of included prospective studies
| Study (nation) | Design | Population (case/participants) | Menopausal status | Follow-up duration (years) |
Exposure |
Outcomes (RRs, 95% CI) | Study quality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | Range (H vs. L) a | |||||||
| Vatten 1993
[18] (Norway) |
NCC |
Subjects from serum bank; 87/235; |
Pre- |
5 |
n-3/n-6: Serum PL, GC (mg/L) |
0.36 vs. 0.14 |
1.0 (0.4, 2.1) |
Moderate |
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Chajes 1999
[35] (Sweden) |
NCC |
Cardiovascular disease Cohort; 196/388; |
Combined |
2 ~ 11 |
LC n-3/n-6: Serum PL, GC (%tFC) |
> 0.68 vs. <0.08 |
0.88 (0.42,1.86) |
Moderate |
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Saadatian-Elahi 2002
[19] (USA) |
NCC |
Health university Women cohort; 197/197; |
Pre- and Post- |
4.3 |
n-3/n-6: Serum PL, GC (%tFC) |
4th quantile vs. reference |
Pre-: 0.60 (0.24, 1.54); |
High ☆☆☆☆ |
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Post-: 0.42 (0.17, 1.08) | ||||||||
| Wirfalt 2002
[36] (Sweden) |
NCC |
Malmo Diet and Cancer (MDC) Cohort; 237/673; |
Post- |
3 ~ 8 |
n-3/n-6: Diet, FFQ (g/day) |
0.33 vs. 0.15 |
0.66 (0.41, 1.08) |
Moderate |
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| Wakai 2005
[17] (Japan) |
PC |
Japan Collaborative Cohort Study (JACC);129/26291 |
Post- and Combined |
7.6 |
n-6/n-3: Diet, FFQ (% energy) |
Combined: > 4.61vs. < 3.25 |
Combined: 1.31 (0.78, 2.19) |
High |
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Post-: > 4.59 vs. < 3.21 |
Post-: 1.30 (0.66, 2.58) |
|||||||
| Chajes 2008
[20] (Sweden) |
NCC |
Europe Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC); 363/702; |
Combined. |
7.0 |
n-6/n-3: Serum PL, GC (%tFC) |
5th quantile vs. reference |
0.76 (0.48, 1.20) |
Moderate |
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| Takata 2009
[37] (USA) |
NCC |
Beta Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial chort study (CARET); 103/309; |
Post-. |
4.4 |
n-3/n-6: Serum PL, GC (%tFC) |
> 0.15 vs. < 0.11 |
0.74 (0.40, 1.36) |
High |
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Thiebaut 2009
[33] (France) |
PC |
EPIC Cohort; 1650/56007 |
Combined |
8.0 |
n-6/n-3:Diet, FFQ, (% energy) |
14.76 vs. 5.48 |
0.97 (0.83, 1.14) |
Moderate |
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| Murff 2011
[16] (China) |
PC |
Shanghai Women Health Study cohort (SWHS); 712/72571; |
Combined |
8.0 |
n-6/n-3: Diet, FFQ, (g/day) |
7.64 vs.5.18 |
1.02 (0.77, 1.34) |
High |
| ☆☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| Park 2012
[15] (USA) |
PC |
Multiethnic Cohort; 3885/85089; |
Post- |
12 |
n-6/n-3: Diet, FFQ, (g/1000 kcal) |
> 9.60 vs. < 7.60 |
1.10 (0.99, 1.22) |
High |
| ☆☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| Sczaniecka 2012
[34] (USA) |
PC |
Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study; 772/30252; |
Post-. |
6.0 |
n-3/n-6: Diet, FFQ, (g/day) |
> 0.03 vs. < 0.005 |
0.84 (0.65, 1.09) |
High |
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆ | ||||||||
| ☆☆☆ | ||||||||
aH vs. L: the highest exposure quantile vs. lowest or reference.
%tFC = percentage of total Fatty Acid; GC = Gas Chromatography; LC n-3 = long chain n-3 PUFAs including EPA, DPA and DHA; NCC = prospective nested case–control study; PC = prospective cohort study; n-3/n-6 = ratio of n-3/n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; n-6/n-3 = ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; FFQ = food frequency questionnaire; Serum PL = serum phospholipids.