title: Heart rate is associated with red blood cell fatty acid concentration: the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) is associated with a reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and sudden death. Although these FAs were originally thought to be antiatherosclerotic, recent evidence suggests that their benefits are related to reducing risk for ventricular arrhythmia and that this may be mediated by a slowed heart rate (HR).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in Alaskan Eskimos participating in the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) Study, a population experiencing a dietary shift from unsaturated to saturated fats. We compared HR with red blood cell (RBC) FA content in 316 men and 391 women ages 35 to 74 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multivariate linear regression analyses of individual FAs with HR as the dependent variable and specific FAs as covariates revealed negative associations between HR and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; P = .004) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3; P = .009) and positive associations between HR and palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7; P = .021), eicosanoic acid (20:1n9; P = .007), and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA; 20:3n-6; P = .021). Factor analysis revealed that the omega-3 FAs were negatively associated with HR (P = .003), whereas a cluster of other, non-omega-3 unsaturated FAs (16:1, 20:1, and 20:3) was positively associated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Marine omega-3 FAs are associated with lower HR, whereas palmitoleic and DGLA, previously identified as associated with saturated FA consumption and directly related to cardiovascular mortality, are associated with higher HR. These relations may at least partially explain the relations between omega-3 FAs, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden death.
authors.affiliation: Norton Sound Health Corporation, Nome, AK, USA. soebbesson@alaska.edu
authors.forename: Sven O E
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Ebbesson
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Devereux
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Lars O E
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Ebbesson
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Fabsitz
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haack
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Wm James
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laston
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lopez-Alvarenga
authors.forename: Jean W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: MacCluer
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Okin
authors.forename: M Elizabeth
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Tejero
authors.forename: V Saroja
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Voruganti
authors.forename: Charlotte R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Wenger
authors.forename: Barbara V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Anthony G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Comuzzie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3