Table 1.
Descriptive statistics for anthropometric data, biochemical analysis, PUFA measurements in RBCs, and dietary intakes. Mann–Whitney U test was used to analyze gender differences (test is significant at p value ≤ 0.05).
| Variables | All n = 196 | Females n = 101 | Males n = 95 | p Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | ||
| Anthropometric data | |||||||
| Age (years) | 12 | 5 | 12.00 | 5.0 | 12.00 | 4.75 | 0.787 |
| zBMI | 3.13 | 1.20 | 2.83 | 1.21 | 3.44 | 1.37 | 0.001 |
| Hematological and biochemical analysis | |||||||
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 13.60 | 1.20 | 13.50 | 1.10 | 13.70 | 1.47 | 0.034 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 40.20 | 2.85 | 39.90 | 2.80 | 40.25 | 3.40 | 0.152 |
| HOMA-IR | 3.95 | 2.95 | 4.04 | 3.04 | 3.94 | 3.09 | 0.470 |
| TC (mg/dL) | 174.00 | 54.00 | 166.00 | 52.00 | 182.50 | 55.50 | 0.109 |
| TG (mg/dL) | 129.00 | 86.50 | 125.00 | 88.00 | 133.00 | 99.75 | 0.237 |
| HDL (mg/dL) | 46.00 | 18.00 | 43.00 | 19.00 | 48.00 | 6.75 | 0.085 |
| AST (U/L) | 29.00 | 14.00 | 29.00 | 14.00 | 29.50 | 15.50 | 0.127 |
| ALT (U/L) | 32.00 | 15.00 | 31.00 | 16.00 | 33.50 | 14.75 | 0.167 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 4.70 | 7.90 | 4.80 | 8.70 | 4.75 | 7.72 | 0.315 |
| Homocysteine (µmoL/L) | 14.78 | 8.78 | 14.16 | 8.08 | 15.33 | 9.28 | 0.398 |
| PUFA measurements in RBCs | |||||||
| ALA RBC (µmol/L) | 1.41 | 1.00 | 1.28 | 1.00 | 1.46 | 1.1 | 0.038 |
| ARA RBC (µmol/L) | 354.22 | 168.25 | 338.64 | 175.45 | 368.18 | 152.23 | 0.142 |
| DHA RBC (µmol/L) | 160.13 | 116.52 | 150.06 | 117.12 | 175.11 | 113.39 | 0.309 |
| EPA RBC (µmol/L) | 2.86 | 2.12 | 2.64 | 2.34 | 2.92 | 1.72 | 0.115 |
| LA RBC (µmol/L) | 209.49 | 135.82 | 193.86 | 119.7 | 239.89 | 140.5 | 0.029 |
| Selected daily nutrient intakes evaluated in 24 h dietary recalls | |||||||
| Kilocalories | 1201.59 | 494.72 | 1201.49 | 440.11 | 1205.77 | 580.32 | 0.889 |
| Protein (g) | 66.60 | 22.11 | 66.63 | 23.00 | 66.48 | 23.80 | 0.832 |
| Lipids (g) | 44.59 | 25.08 | 44.17 | 22.99 | 45.67 | 28.42 | 0.781 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 135.93 | 58.15 | 138.52 | 51.27 | 129.93 | 61.29 | 0.266 |
| Water (g) | 21.96 | 829.49 | 2146.43 | 749.58 | 2280.80 | 912.78 | 0.207 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 260.54 | 157.94 | 255.68 | 129.83 | 274.79 | 158.47 | 0.853 |
| ALA (mg) | 77.16 | 217.21 | 57.29 | 196.85 | 87 | 272.44 | 0.280 |
| DHA (mg) | 10.63 | 24 | 10.16 | 19.47 | 10.95 | 24.74 | 0.547 |
| EPA (mg) | 3.4 | 5.99 | 3.09 | 5.81 | 4.00 | 6.20 | 0.971 |
| LA (mg) | 943.08 | 2306.07 | 953.40 | 2072.57 | 943.08 | 2334.76 | 0.527 |
Legend: PUFA—polyunsaturated fatty acid, IQR—interquartile range (IQR = Q3–Q1), zBMI—standardized body mass index (BMI) to account for age and gender, HOMA-IR—homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, TC—total cholesterol, TG—triglycerides, HDL—high density cholesterol, g—grams, mg—milligrams, µmol/L—micromoles/liter, AST—aspartate aminotransferase, ALT—alanine aminotransferase, CRP—C reactive protein, HDL chol—high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, ALA—alfa-linolenic acid, ARA—arachidonic acid, DHA—docosahexaenoic acid, EPA—eicosapentaenoic acid, LA—linoleic acid, RBC—red blood cell membrane.