Erythrocyte omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and preeclampsia risk in Peruvian women.
OBJECTIVE
This case-control study was conducted in Lima, Peru, from June 1997 through January 1998 to assess whether alteration in maternal erythrocyte omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) fatty acids was associated with increased risk of preeclampsia.


METHODS
A total of 99 preeclampsia and 100 normotensive pregnant women were included. Maternal erythrocyte n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were determined using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and expressed as micromolar (mM) concentrations. We employed logistic regression procedures to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).


RESULTS
n-3 fatty acids were consistently lower in preeclampsia cases than controls. After adjusting for confounders, the corresponding ORs for preeclampsia across decreasing quartiles of sum of long-chain n-3 fatty acids were 1.0, 3.3, 2.4, and 3.3, respectively (P=0.07 for trend). A similar pattern was observed for eicosapentenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA). There was no clear evidence of an association between arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, AA) and preeclampsia risk, the ORs in successively lower quartiles were 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, and 1.5 (P=0.48 for trend). A similar pattern was seen for the sum of long-chain n-6 fatty acids.


CONCLUSIONS
In Peruvian women, low erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids appeared to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.
Qiu
Chunfang
C
Center for Perinatal Studies, Swedish Medical Center, 747 Broadway (Suite 4 North), Seattle, WA 98122, USA. Chun-fang.Qiu@Swedish.org
Sanchez
Sixto E
SE
Larrabure
Gloria
G
David
Robert
R
Bralley
J Alexander
JA
Williams
Michelle A
MA
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010568:Peru; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid