Table 2.
Breast cancer risk by tertiles of serum phospholipid fatty acids.
| Cases | Controls | Tertile 2 | Tertile 3 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean % | SD | Mean % | SD | OR a | (95% CI) | p-Value | OR a | (95% CI) | p-Value | p-Trend | q-Trend b | |
| SFAs | ||||||||||||
| 14:0 myristic acid | 0.42 | (0.31) | 0.40 | (0.28) | 0.90 | (0.69–1.19) | 0.464 | 0.96 | (0.72–1.28) | 0.783 | 0.797 | 0.797 |
| 15:0 pentadecanoic acid | 0.19 | (0.17) | 0.18 | (0.16) | 1.15 | (0.88–1.51) | 0.308 | 1.37 | (1.03–1.82) | 0.032 | 0.031 | 0.088 |
| 16:0 palmitic acid | 39.78 | (8.73) | 38.87 | (8.21) | 0.87 | (0.65–1.14) | 0.308 | 1.23 | (0.91–1.66) | 0.181 | 0.199 | 0.388 |
| 17:0 margaric acid | 0.27 | (0.54) | 0.24 | (0.15) | 1.14 | (0.86–1.52) | 0.349 | 1.25 | (0.92–1.69) | 0.150 | 0.150 | 0.326 |
| 18:0 stearic acid | 15.90 | (4.77) | 16.76 | (5.02) | 0.97 | (0.72–1.32) | 0.865 | 0.44 | (0.30–0.66) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.009 |
| 20:0 arachidic acid | 0.09 | (0.32) | 0.10 | (0.30) | 1.34 | (0.95–1.89) | 0.096 | 1.05 | (0.78–1.41) | 0.743 | 0.646 | 0.771 |
| 22:0 behenic acid | 0.01 | (0.05) | 0.01 | (0.06) | 0.43 | (0.30–0.61) | <0.001 | 0.70 | (0.51–0.96) | 0.025 | 0.017 | 0.061 |
| Total SFAs | 56.67 | (7.72) | 56.57 | (7.86) | 0.84 | (0.62–1.12) | 0.231 | 0.86 | (0.64–1.16) | 0.319 | 0.340 | 0.503 |
| cis-MUFAs | ||||||||||||
| 16:1 n-7 palmitoleic acid | 0.32 | (0.30) | 0.29 | (0.26) | 1.48 | (1.10–1.97) | 0.008 | 1.65 | (1.20–2.26) | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.015 |
| 17:1 heptadecenoic acid | 0.03 | (0.03) | 0.03 | (0.03) | 0.80 | (0.61–1.06) | 0.120 | 1.04 | (0.77–1.40) | 0.810 | 0.792 | 0.797 |
| 18:1 n-9 oleic acid | 12.10 | (5.54) | 11.92 | (5.36) | 1.06 | (0.82–1.38) | 0.658 | 1.17 | (0.86–1.60) | 0.306 | 0.313 | 0.483 |
| 20:1 n-9 gondoic acid | 0.12 | (0.54) | 0.08 | (0.10) | 1.20 | (0.88–1.64) | 0.243 | 1.68 | (1.23–2.30) | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.009 |
| 22:1 n-9 erucic acid | 0.12 | (0.42) | 0.22 | (1.23) | 0.99 | (0.72–1.36) | 0.932 | 0.77 | (0.57–1.02) | 0.071 | 0.077 | 0.178 |
| Total cis-MUFAs | 12.69 | (5.61) | 12.54 | (5.54) | 1.06 | (0.81–1.38) | 0.680 | 1.19 | (0.87–1.62) | 0.273 | 0.282 | 0.454 |
| cis-n-6 PUFAs | ||||||||||||
| 18:2 linoleic acid | 17.37 | (4.30) | 17.65 | (4.08) | 0.91 | (0.69–1.18) | 0.468 | 0.66 | (0.49–0.90) | 0.009 | 0.010 | 0.053 |
| 18:3 γ-linolenic acid | 0.04 | (0.42) | 0.02 | (0.06) | 0.87 | (0.63–1.19) | 0.371 | 1.39 | (1.06–1.82) | 0.019 | 0.018 | 0.061 |
| 20:2 eicosadienoic acid | 0.11 | (0.15) | 0.10 | (0.13) | 0.92 | (0.68–1.25) | 0.608 | 1.18 | (0.85–1.62) | 0.322 | 0.274 | 0.454 |
| 20:3 dihomo-γ-linolenic acid | 1.99 | (1.20) | 1.85 | (1.02) | 1.05 | (0.81–1.38) | 0.695 | 1.30 | (0.99–1.71) | 0.063 | 0.060 | 0.148 |
| 20:4 arachidonic acid | 7.05 | (2.61) | 7.15 | (2.63) | 1.02 | (0.77–1.33) | 0.909 | 0.94 | (0.71–1.25) | 0.689 | 0.698 | 0.783 |
| 22:2 docosadienoic acid | 0.02 | (0.03) | 0.02 | (0.03) | 0.87 | (0.65–1.17) | 0.364 | 1.17 | (0.89–1.55) | 0.255 | 0.249 | 0.454 |
| Total cis-n-6 PUFAs | 26.59 | (5.97) | 26.80 | (5.96) | 0.99 | (0.76–1.30) | 0.960 | 0.87 | (0.64–1.19) | 0.391 | 0.415 | 0.591 |
| cis-n-3 PUFAs | ||||||||||||
| 18:3 α-linolenic acid | 0.06 | (0.06) | 0.06 | (0.07) | 0.96 | (0.71–1.31) | 0.807 | 1.04 | (0.76–1.44) | 0.794 | 0.767 | 0.797 |
| 20:5 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) | 0.46 | (0.51) | 0.50 | (0.58) | 1.02 | (0.77–1.33) | 0.905 | 0.93 | (0.69–1.26) | 0.648 | 0.642 | 0.771 |
| 22:6 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) | 1.94 | (1.30) | 1.98 | (1.24) | 0.92 | (0.70–1.21) | 0.541 | 0.90 | (0.67–1.20) | 0.468 | 0.465 | 0.637 |
| Total cis-n-3 PUFAs | 2.46 | (1.64) | 2.54 | (1.65) | 1.03 | (0.78–1.36) | 0.836 | 0.95 | (0.70–1.28) | 0.747 | 0.746 | 0.797 |
| Total trans Fatty acids | ||||||||||||
| 16:1 n-7t palmitelaidic acid | 0.24 | (0.19) | 0.22 | (0.18) | 1.51 | (1.12–2.04) | 0.006 | 1.51 | (1.12–2.02) | 0.007 | 0.012 | 0.056 |
| 18:1 n-9t elaidic acid | 0.21 | (0.66) | 0.25 | (1.89) | 1.53 | (1.14–2.04) | 0.005 | 1.52 | (1.14–2.03) | 0.004 | 0.005 | 0.031 |
| 18:1 n-7t vaccenic acid | 1.11 | (0.67) | 1.07 | (0.46) | 1.06 | (0.80–1.41) | 0.663 | 1.18 | (0.88–1.57) | 0.268 | 0.268 | 0.454 |
| 18:2 n-6t linolelaidic acid | 0.01 | (0.04) | 0.01 | (0.12) | 0.85 | (0.60–1.21) | 0.379 | 0.92 | (0.69–1.21) | 0.540 | 0.559 | 0.713 |
| Ruminant trans-fatty acids c | 1.36 | (0.69) | 1.29 | (0.50) | 1.38 | (1.05–1.81) | 0.021 | 1.44 | (1.07–1.93) | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.061 |
| Industrial trans-fatty acids d | 0.22 | (0.66) | 0.26 | (1.89) | 1.14 | (0.86–1.49) | 0.359 | 1.38 | (1.04–1.85) | 0.028 | 0.028 | 0.086 |
| Ratio cis-PUFA n-6/n-3 e | 13.74 | (2.20) | 13.33 | (2.25) | 1.08 | (0.82–1.42) | 0.595 | 1.09 | (0.81–1.47) | 0.551 | 0.553 | 0.713 |
| Desaturation indices | ||||||||||||
| SCD-16: 16:1n-7c/16:0 e | 0.01 | (1.93) | 0.01 | (1.97) | 1.40 | (1.06–1.87) | 0.020 | 1.25 | (0.91–1.72) | 0.161 | 0.160 | 0.329 |
| SCD-18: 18:1n-9/18:0 e | 0.73 | (1.58) | 0.69 | (1.63) | 2.21 | (1.58–3.08) | <0.001 | 2.04 | (1.45–2.87) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.009 |
| FADS1: 20:4n-6/20:3n-6 e | 3.74 | (1.54) | 4.01 | (1.48) | 0.79 | (0.61–1.02) | 0.067 | 0.64 | (0.48–0.84) | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.009 |
| FADS2: 20:3n-6/18:2n-6 e | 0.10 | (1.02) | 0.10 | (1.75) | 1.12 | (0.86–1.47) | 0.401 | 1.35 | (1.02–1.78) | 0.034 | 0.034 | 0.090 |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; FADS, fatty acid desaturase; MUFAs, monounsaturated fatty acids; n-3 PUFAs, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; n-6 PUFAs, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; OR, odds ratio; SCD, stearoyl-CoA desaturase; SFAs, saturated fatty acids. a Adjusted for educational level, body mass index, menopausal status, age at menarche, age at first birth (with a category of history of nulliparous), hormone replacement therapy use, alcohol consumption, physical activity, previous benign breast problems, family history of breast cancer and energy intake. Adjusted for age and hospital by design. b p-value for linear trend in tertiles following the Benjamini and Hochberg procedure. c Includes 16:1 n-7t and 18:1 n-7t. d Includes 18:1 n-9t and 18:2t. e Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation.