Dietary fatty acids and insulin secretion: a population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
Few epidemiological studies have examined the relationship of dietary fatty acids, especially MUFA, with the interrelation between insulin secretion and insulin resistance. We assessed the relation of dietary fatty acids with insulin secretion in a free-living population.


METHODS
This cross-sectional, population-based study was undertaken in Pizarra, a small town in Spain.


METHODS
Anthropometrical data were collected for 1226 persons selected randomly from the municipal census, 538 of whom (randomly chosen) were given a prospective, quantitative, 7-day nutritional questionnaire. The fatty acid composition of the serum phospholipids was used as a biological marker of the type of fat consumed. Beta-cell function (betaCFI) and insulin-resistance index (IRI) were estimated by the Homeostasis Model Assessment.


RESULTS
To determine which factors influence the variability of the betaCFI, we analyzed the variance of the betaCFI according to sex, the presence of carbohydrate metabolism disorders and the different components of the diet, adjusting the models for age, body mass index (BMI) and IRI. The dietary MUFA and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contributed to the variability of the betaCFI, whereas only the proportion of serum phospholipid MUFA, but neither the saturated fatty acids nor the PUFA accounted for part of the variability of the betaCFI in a multiple regression analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this population-based study corroborate the results of other clinical and experimental studies suggesting a favorable relationship of MUFA with beta-cell insulin secretion.


BACKGROUND
Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Junta de Andalucía and the Asociación Maimónides.
Rojo-Martínez
G
G
Endocrinology and Nutrition Service, Civil Hospital, Carlos Haya University Hospital, Malaga, Spain. gemma.rojo.exts@juntadeandalucia.es
Esteva
I
I
Ruiz de Adana
M S
MS
García-Almeida
J M
JM
Tinahones
F
F
Cardona
F
F
Morcillo
S
S
García-Escobar
E
E
García-Fuentes
E
E
Soriguer
F
F
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D007328:Insulin