Table 2.
Characteristics and plasma fatty acid profile of subjects in the highest and lowest tertiles
| n-6 level | n-3 level | SFA/PUFA ratio | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest tertile (n 18) | Lowest tertile (n 18) | P | Highest tertile (n 18) | Lowest tertile (n 18) | P | Highest tertile (n 18) | Lowest tertile (n 18) | P | |
| Male/female | 5/13 | 5/13 | 3/15 | 5/13 | 5/13 | 6/12 | |||
| Age (years) | 28 (23–33) | 26 (21–29) | 0.31 | 27 (21–31) | 27 (21–28) | 0.80 | 27 (22–29) | 29 (23–33) | 0.38 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.5 ± 2.9 | 22.6 ± 2.6 | 0.94 | 22.2 ± 2 | 22.7 ± 3.3 | 0.57 | 23.3 ± 2.7 | 22.6 ± 2.6 | 0.41 |
| Total-C (mmol/l) | 4.9 ± 0.9 | 4.7 ± 1.1 | 0.65 | 4.9 ± 1 | 4.9 ± 1 | 0.96 | 4.7 ± 0.8 | 5.0 ± 0.9 | 0.25 |
| LDL-C (mmol/l) | 2.7 ± 0.8 | 2.6 ± 0.9 | 0.79 | 2.6 ± 0.9 | 2.8 ± 0.6 | 0.71 | 2.5 ± 0.6 | 2.8 ± 0.9 | 0.16 |
| HDL-C (mmol/l) | 1.6 ± 0.4 | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 0.15 | 1.6 ± 0.3 | 1.4 ± 0.4 | 0.28 | 1.5 ± 0.4 | 1.6 ± 0.3 | 0.74 |
| TG (mmol/l) | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 1.4 (0.9–1.7) | 0.01 | 0.9 (0.6–1.1) | 1.2 (0.7–1.2) | 0.30 | 1.3 (0.8–1.6) | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.01 |
| Lymphocytes (%) | 38.4 ± 6.8 | 43.0 ± 8.5 | 0.08 | 42.2 ± 10.0 | 37.6 ± 4 | 0.09 | 42.1 ± 8.7 | 37.4 ± 8.4 | 0.11 |
| Monocytes (%) | 8.5 ± 1.8 | 8.1 ± 1.9 | 0.49 | 8.1 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 2.3 | 0.42 | 8.8 ± 2.2 | 8.48 ± 2.0 | 0.71 |
| Plasma level of fatty acids (wt%) | |||||||||
| Total SFA | 29.6 (28.8–30.5) | 32.7 (31.1–33.2) | < 0.01 | 30.7 (29.3–32.3) | 31.3 (29.8–31.8) | 0.78 | 33.0 (31.5–33.2) | 29.1 (28.7–29.5) | < 0.01 |
| Myristic acid (14:0) | 0.8 (0.6–1.0) | 1.2 (0.8–1.2) | < 0.01 | 0.9 (0.6–1.1) | 1.0 (0.7–1.1) | 0.57 | 1.2 (0.9–1.2) | 0.7 (0.6–0.9) | < 0.01 |
| Palmitic acid (16:0) | 20.8 (20.2–21.6) | 23.5 (21.4–24.2) | < 0.01 | 21.9 (20.4–23.7) | 22.2 (20.9–22.6) | 0.39 | 23.8 (21.8–24.5) | 20.7 (20.2–20.7) | < 0.01 |
| Stearic acid (18:0) | 8.1 ± 0.7 | 8.1 ± 1.1 | 0.86 | 8.2 ± 1.1 | 8.0 ± 1.0 | 0.65 | 8.0 ± 1.1 | 7.7 ± 0.8 | 0.37 |
| Total n-6 | 38.6 ± 1.3 | 30.3 ± 2.9 | < 0.01 | 31.0 ± 4.0 | 31.5 ± 4.5 | 0.74 | 30.8 ± 3.4 | 38.0 ± 2.0 | < 0.01 |
| LA (18:2n-6) | 32.3 ± 1.6 | 24.9 ± 2.5 | < 0.01 | 27.8 ± 3.8 | 29.2 ± 4.1 | 0.29 | 24.8 ± 2.5 | 31.8 ± 2.1 | < 0.01 |
| AA (20:4n-6) | 6.2 ± 1.1 | 5.4 ± 0.9 | 0.02 | 5.8 ± 0.7 | 6.2 ± 1.2 | 0.32 | 5.9 ± 1.3 | 6.2 ± 1. 1 | 0.58 |
| Total n-3 | 5.8 ± 2.5 | 7.0 ± 2.3 | 0.12 | 9.0 ± 0.9 | 3.6 ± 0.49 | < 0.01 | 6.1 ± 2.5 | 6.8 ± 2.4 | 0.44 |
| ALA (18:3n- 3) | 0.6 (0.5–0.6) | 0.5 (0.4–0.6) | 0.46 | 0.5 (0.5–0.6) | 0.5 (0.5–0.6) | 0.79 | 0.5 (0.5–0.6) | 0.5 (0.5–0.5) | 0.95 |
| EPA (20:5n-3) | 1.7 (0.6–2.3) | 2.3 (1.8–2.9) | 0.14 | 3.2 (2.8–3.7) | 0.6 (0.5–0.6) | < 0.01 | 1.8 (0.7–2.6) | 2.2 (1.3–3.2) | 0.46 |
| DPA (22:5n-3) | 0.6 ± 0.1 | 0.7 ± 0.2 | 0.26 | 0.8 ± 0.1 | 0.5 ± 0.1 | < 0.01 | 0.6 ± 0.2 | 0.6 ± 0.1 | 0.80 |
| DHA (22:6n-3) | 3.0 (1.9–4.1) | 3.6 (3.1–4.1) | 0.14 | 4.3 (4.1–4.7) | 1.9 (1.8–2.1) | < 0.01 | 3.2 (2.0–4.1) | 3.4 (2.8–4.3) | 0.48 |
| Total PUFA | 44.4 (42.1–47.3) | 37.3 (35.8–39.7) | < 0.01 | 42.6 (39.5–46.7) | 40.4 (37.7–41.5) | 0.05 | 36.9 (35.8–39.1) |
44.7 (43.1–47.3) | < 0.01 |
| SFA to PUFA ratio | 0.7 (0.6–0.7) | 0.8 (0.8–0.9) | < 0.01 | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 0.8 (0.7–0.8) | 0.13 | 0.9 (0.8–0.9) | 0.7 (0.6–0.7) | < 0.01 |
Lymphocytes and monocytes are given as percentage of total white cell count. Differences between tertiles were analyzed using the independent samples t test when normally distributed or the Mann-Whitney U test when not normally distributed. P values < 0.05 were considered significant and are presented in italic. Values are presented as mean ± SD or medians and 25th–75th percentile
BMI body mass index, Total-C total cholesterol, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG triglycerides, SFA saturated fatty acid, LA linoleic acid, AA arachidonic acid, ALA alpha-linolenic acid, EPA eicosapentaenoic acid, DPA docosapentaenoic acid, DHA docosahexaenoic acid, PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acid