title: Serum fatty acid composition as a marker of eating habits in normal and diabetic subjects.
abstract: It is known that the Japanese people have had healthy eating habits, which may explain their low incidence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In the present study, in order to examine dietary habits such as fish consumption, the serum fatty acids from 190 normal people in their 30s and 50s living in Tokyo were surveyed. Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of 44 patients with DM was studied to clarify the difference in eating habits between normal and diabetic patients. The n-3:n-6 ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids was 0.19 +/- 0.05 for the group in their 30s and 0.27 +/- 0.08 for the group in their 50s (P < 0.01). In patients with DM, the n-3:n-6 ratio was 0.23 +/- 0.05 and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was 6.52 +/- 0.55%. After 4 months of dietary education, the n-3:n-6 ratio had increased to 0.27 +/- 0.06 (P < 0.01) and HbA1c had decreased significantly to 6.16 +/- 0.35% (P < 0.01). These findings indicated that people in their 50s tend to eat a traditional diet, which is abundant in fish oil, whereas people in their 30s, as well as patients with NIDDM in their 50s, appear to eat a diet that includes less fish than the traditional diet. Benefits of fish oil have been reported to be limited due to adverse effects in the glycemic controls in patients with NIDDM. Early instruction of newly diagnosed patients to encourage them to change their eating habits to a more traditional diet, which is abundant in fish, proved to be one of the safe methods for interventions in patients with DM.
authors.affiliation: Hukagawa Public Health Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oshima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005227:Fatty Acids