Table 1.

Unadjusted means and standard errors for circulating concentrations (ng/mL) of omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) essential fatty acids and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes

		Linoleic acid 18:2n-6		α-linolenic acid 18:3n-3		Arachidonic acid 20:4n-6		Eicosapentaenoic acid 20:5n-3		Docosahexaenoic acid 22:6n-3
	N	Mean	S.E.	Mean	S.E.	Mean	S.E.	Mean	S.E.	Mean	S.E.
Total	503	1116.9	45.3	78.5	2.9	79.1	2.8	99.4	4.7	18.7	0.9
Sex
Men	177	1126.3	76.9	81.6	5.3	86.9	5.4	120.4	9.6	17.8	1.6
Women	326	1111.9	56.2	76.9	3.5	74.8	3.2	88.0	4.9	19.3	1.1
P-value		0.879		0.439		0.039		0.001		0.425
Age, y
18–29	131	982.0	88.4	72.4	5.6	67.1	4.1	72.2	5.9	15.2	1.2
30–39	138	1001.9	66.9	70.3	4.1	71.7	4.9	97.1	9.6	18.2	1.6
40–49	149	1234.6	93.8	86.0	5.9	88.4	5.7	112.9	9.6	20.5	2.0
50–74	85	1305.5	116.9	88.3	8.2	93.3	8.0	121.2	11.7	22.0	2.2
P-value		0.029		0.065		0.002		0.002		0.051
Race (a)
White	331	1050.7	49.7	74.2	3.2	75.5	3.2	97.9	5.6	17.6	1.0
Black/AA	116	1285.9	119.8	87.3	7.2	91.2	7.1	110.6	11.3	21.7	2.3
Other	56	1158.3	130.3	86.2	9.5	75.1	7.0	84.5	11.1	19.3	2.5
P-value		0.095		0.113		0.061		0.283		0.162
Obesity (b)
Not obese	329	1100.2	57.8	77.4	3.7	73.1	3.2	92.2	5.5	19.6	1.2
Obese	174	1148.6	72.3	80.8	4.7	90.5	5.4	112.9	8.6	17.1	1.2
P-value		0.612		0.575		0.003		0.036		0.095

^(a)Racial groups self-identified as White; Black/African American; others were pooled (Asian; Native American; other or multiple races; Hispanic ethnicity, not stated).

^(b)Not obese refers to a body mass index <30 kg/m². Obese refers to a body mass index ≥30 kg/m²