Ethnicity, plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition and inflammatory/endothelial activation biomarkers in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
OBJECTIVE
It has been recognized that certain long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are involved in inflammation and its resolution. It has also been shown that ethnicity may be a factor in affecting systemic inflammation, and limited evidence suggests it may influence plasma LC-PUFA composition. Given the links among these three factors, we aim to determine ethnicity-based differences in plasma LC-PUFA composition among White, Black, Hispanic and Chinese participants, and whether such differences contribute to variations in markers of inflammation and endothelial activation in a sub-cohort of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).


METHODS
Plasma phospholipid LC-PUFAs levels (%) were determined in 2848 MESA participants using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Enzyme immunoassays determined inflammatory markers levels for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (n=2848), interleukin-6 (n=2796), soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor type 1 (n=998), and endothelial activation markers soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (n=1192) and soluble E-selectin (n=998). The modifying influence of ethnicity was tested by linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
Chinese adults were found to have the highest mean levels of plasma eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 1.24%) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 4.95%), and the lowest mean levels of γ-linolenic (0.10%), dihomo-γ-linolenic (DGLA, 2.96%) and arachidonic (10.72%) acids compared with the other ethnicities (all P ≤ 0.01). In contrast, Hispanics had the lowest mean levels of plasma EPA (0.70%) and DHA (3.49%), and the highest levels of DGLA (3.59%; all P ≤ 0.01). Significant differences in EPA and DHA among ethnicities were attenuated following adjustment for dietary non-fried fish and fish oil supplementation. Ethnicity did not modify the associations of LC-PUFAs with markers of inflammation or endothelial activation (all P (interaction)>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The absence of a modifying effect of ethnicity indicates that the putative benefits of LC-PUFAs with respect to inflammation are pan-ethnic. Future longitudinal studies may elucidate the origin(s) of ethnicity-based differences in LC-PUFA composition and whether certain patterns, that is, high plasma levels of DGLA and low levels of EPA/DHA, contribute to inflammation-associated health outcomes.
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0392, USA.
B T
BT
Steffen
L M
LM
Steffen
R
R
Tracy
D
D
Siscovick
D
D
Jacobs
K
K
Liu
K
K
He
N Q
NQ
Hanson
J A
JA
Nettleton
M Y
MY
Tsai
D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D000368:Aged; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood; D044466:Asian People; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000097:blood*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry
D015415:Biomarkers; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D010743:Phospholipids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid