title: Plasma fatty acid composition, estimated desaturase activities, and their relation with the metabolic syndrome in a population at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of various metabolic abnormalities which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Due to its increasing prevalence, it has become an important public health concern. Altered fatty acid (FA) composition and desaturase activities have been associated with several metabolic diseases, including MetS. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship of the plasma FA profile and desaturase activities with the MetS in a Mediterranean population at high risk of CVD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline data from 427 participants aged 55-80 years who took part in the interventional PREDIMED study were obtained. Individual FA was determined in plasma and desaturase activities were estimated from product/precursor ratios. Odds ratios (OR) and partial correlation coefficients were used to examine these relations with MetS and its components, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found higher levels of C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, estimated Δ(9)- or stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), and estimated Δ(6) desaturase (D6D), and lower levels of C18:2n-6 in people with MetS compared to those without it. After adjustment for several confounders, only higher quartiles of C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, and D6D were found to be associated with an increasing prevalence of MetS, while higher quartiles of C18:2n-6 were inversely associated with MetS. High proportions of C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C20:3n-6, SCD, and D6D, and decreased proportions of C18:2n-6 and estimated Δ(5)-desaturase (D5D) were associated with adverse profiles of several metabolic risk factors. Women showed more unhealthy FA pattern and lipid profiles than men, but only among those with MetS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A FA composition and estimated desaturase activities consisting in high levels of SFA, SCD and D6D, and low levels of PUFA and D5D are associated with increased MetS probability and are characteristic of people presenting MetS, especially women. These findings support those observed in non-Mediterranean populations in which an altered FA profile and estimated desaturase activities are associated with MetS.
authors.affiliation: CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mayneris-Perxachs
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Reference Center in Food Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guerendiain
authors.affiliation: CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain; Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Reference Center in Food Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Castellote
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Estruch
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Municipal Institute for Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: María Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Covas
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Municipal Institute for Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitó
authors.affiliation: Human Nutrition Unit, Faculty of Medicine, IISPV, University Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salas-Salvadó
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez-González
authors.affiliation: CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain; Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Alava, Vitoria, Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aros
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Reference Center in Food Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), RETIC Alimentación Saludable RD 06/0045, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lamuela-Raventós
authors.affiliation: CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain; Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Reference Center in Food Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: mclopez@ub.edu.
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: López-Sabater
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D013230:Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D013230:Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase
keywords: AA; ALA; CVD; D5D; D6D; DBP; DGLA; DHA; EPA; Estimated desaturase activities; FA; GLA; HDL-C; LA; LDL-C; MA; MGA; Mediterranean population; MetS; Metabolic risk factors; Metabolic syndrome; OA; PA; POA; Plasma fatty acid profile; SA; SBP; SCD; TC; WC; arachidonic acid; cardiovascular disease; diastolic blood pressure; dihommo-γ-linoleic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; eicosapentaenoic acid; fatty acid; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; linoleic acid; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; margaric acid; metabolic syndrome; myristic acid; oleic acid; palmitic acid; palmitoleic acid; stearic acid; stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase; systolic blood pressure; total cholesterol; waist circumference; Δ(5) desaturase; Δ(6) desaturase; α-linolenic acid; γ-linolenic acid