title: High levels of saturated very long-chain fatty acid (hexacosanoic acid; C26:0) in whole blood are associated with metabolic syndrome in Japanese men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hexacosanoic acid (C26:0) is a saturated very long-chain fatty acid and high levels of C26:0 in red blood cells are reported to be closely related with risk factors of atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between absolute levels of C26:0 in whole blood and metabolic syndrome (MS) has not been determined.
  
  
  METHODS
  We divided 218 consecutive apparently healthy male subjects into an MS group (n=78) and a non-MS group (n=140) according to the definition of the International Diabetes Federation. The levels of C26:0 in whole blood were measured by gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MS group had significantly higher levels of C26:0 than the non-MS group (2.42+/-0.31mug/ml vs. 2.25+/-0.29mug/ml, P=0001). There was a significant association between the levels of C26:0 and the number of factors of MS. The levels of C26:0 positively correlated with age, blood pressure, triglyceride and fasting plasma glucose. Multivariate analysis revealed that the level of C26:0 is still an independent variable for the presence of MS after adjustment for age and each criterion of MS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The absolute levels of C26:0 in whole blood appear to be associated with MS independent of its component parts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kume
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Kyoichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oshida
authors.forename: Naotake
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yanagisawab
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takizawa
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiyanagi
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sumiyoshi
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohmura
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mokuno
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daida
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008055:Lipids; C017364:hexacosanoic acid