Relation between dietary linolenic acid and coronary artery disease in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiologic studies suggest that a higher consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Studies in humans and animals also reported an inverse association between alpha-linolenic acid and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.


OBJECTIVE
We examined the relation between dietary linolenic acid and prevalent coronary artery disease (CAD).


METHODS
We studied 4584 participants with a mean (+/-SD) age of 52.1 +/- 13.7 y in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study in a cross-sectional design. Participants' diets were assessed with a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. For each sex, we created age- and energy-adjusted quintiles of linolenic acid, and we used logistic regression to estimate prevalent odds ratios for CAD.


RESULTS
From the lowest to the highest quintile of linolenic acid, the prevalence odds ratios of CAD were 1.0, 0.77, 0.61, 0.58, and 0.60 for the men (P for trend = 0.012) and 1.0, 0.57, 0.52, 0.30, and 0.42 for the women (P for trend = 0.014) after adjustment for age, linoleic acid, and anthropometric, lifestyle, and metabolic factors. Linoleic acid was also inversely related to the prevalence odds ratios of CAD in the multivariate model (0.60 and 0.61 in the second and third tertiles, respectively) after adjustment for linolenic acid. The combined effect of linoleic and linolenic acids was stronger than the individual effects of either fatty acid.


CONCLUSIONS
A higher intake of either linolenic or linoleic acid was inversely related to the prevalence odds ratio of CAD. The 2 fatty acids had synergistic effects on the prevalence odds ratio of CAD.
Djoussé
L
L
Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Evans Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA. ldjousse@bu.edu
Pankow
J S
JS
Eckfeldt
J H
JH
Folsom
A R
AR
Hopkins
P N
PN
Province
M A
MA
Hong
Y
Y
Ellison
R C
RC
D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid