title: The relationships between erythrocyte membrane n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio and blood lipids and C-reactive protein in Chinese adults: an observational study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationships between erythrocyte membrane n-6:n-3 PUFAs ratio and blood lipids and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).
  
  
  METHODS
  The observational study consisted of a population-based cross-sectional study of 456 Chinese and a subsequent 1-year follow-up study of 171 subjects with the fasting plasma total cholesterol of 5.13-8.00 mmol/L.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the cross-sectional analysis, plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) had a significant and negative association with the erythrocyte membrane n-6:n-3 PUFAs ratio (P for trend=0.019) after adjusting for sex, age and total PUFA percentage. In the follow-up study, 171 subjects were categorized into quartiles by the changes of n-6:n-3 ratio in erythrocyte membrane (Δ=month 12-month 0). In the top quartile whose ratios of n-6:n-3 increased by an average of 1.25 during the follow-up, the LDL-c-lowering extent was 3.3 times of that in the lowest quartile whose ratios of n-6:n-3 decreased by an average of 1.13 (-1.07 mmol/L v.s. -0.32 mmol/L). The hsCRP decreased by 0.11 mg/dL in the lowest quartile while increasing by 0.10 mg/dL in the top quartile (P for difference=0.052).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggested that the balance between n-6 and n-3 fatty acids may optimize the cardiovascular benefits from dietary PUFAs.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: ChaoGang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: ShuYu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: YanBin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: QiQiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: YuMing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: YiXiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein