Table 7.
Mean percent FA levels for northern and southern Ghanaian children.
| Fatty Acid (% of Total) | Southern Ghana n = 209 |
Northern Ghana n = 307 |
p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| C18:3n3 alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) | 0.25 ± 0.10 | 0.18 ± 0.12 | <0.001 |
| C20:5n3 Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) | 0.80 ± 0.35 | 0.22 ± 0.26 | <0.001 |
| C20:5n3 Docosapentaenoic Acid (DPA n-3) | 1.01 ± 0.21 | 0.58 ± 0.18 | <0.001 |
| C22:6n3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) | 5.09 ± 0.98 | 2.62 ± 0.64 | <0.001 |
| Total n-3 | 7.15 ± 1.34 | 3.61 ± 0.91 | <0.001 |
| Omega-3 Index | 8.03 ± 1.37 | 4.55 ± 0.92 | <0.001 |
| C18:2n6 Linoleic Acid (LA) | 16.7 ± 1.92 | 20.6 ± 1.85 | <0.001 |
| C18:3n6 γ -Linoleic Acid (GLA) | 0.21 ± 0.09 | 0.17 ± 0.07 | <0.001 |
| C20:2n6 Eicosadienoic Acid | 0.25 ± 0.05 | 0.29 ± 0.07 | <0.001 |
| C20:3n6 Dihomo-γ-linolenic Acid (DGLA) | 1.24 ± 0.23 | 1.36 ± 0.26 | <0.001 |
| C20:4n6 Arachidonic Acid (AA) | 9.18 ± 1.56 | 10.8 ± 1.61 | <0.001 |
| C22:4n6 Docosatetraenoic Acid (DTA) | 1.03 ± 0.25 | 1.69 ± 0.37 | <0.001 |
| C22:5n6 Docosapentaenoic Acid (DPA n-6) | 0.45 ± 0.13 | 0.59 ± 0.17 | <0.001 |
| Total n-6 | 29.1 ± 2.60 | 35.7 ± 2.53 | <0.001 |
| n6/n3 ratio | 4.20 ± 0.81 | 10.3 ± 2.00 | <0.001 |
| T/T Ratio | 0.010 ± 0.007 | 0.013 ± 0.005 | <0.001 |
| Mead acid | 0.09 ± 0.06 | 0.14 ± 0.05 | <0.001 |
FA data from northern Ghana fatty [31] were compared to the Southern Ghana data in this study. Whole blood FA were analyzed similarly and were normally distributed. Thus, a student’s t-test was used to compare mean differences in individual FA levels between the two regions.