title: Biomarkers of dairy fatty acids and risk of cardiovascular disease in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence regarding the role of dairy fat intake in cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been mixed and inconclusive. Most earlier studies have used self-reported measures of dietary intake and focused on relatively racially homogeneous populations. Circulating biomarkers of dairy fat in a multiethnic cohort provide objective measures of dairy fat intake and facilitate conclusions relevant to populations with different diets and susceptibility to CVD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a multiethnic cohort of 2837 US adults aged 45 to 84 years at baseline (2000-2002), phospholipid fatty acids including 15:0, 14:0, and trans-16:1n7 were measured using standardized methods, and the incidence of CVD prospectively adjudicated. Self-reported whole-fat dairy and butter intakes had strongest associations with 15:0, rather than 14:0 or trans-16:1n7. In multivariate models including demographics and lifestyle and dietary habits, each SD-unit of 15:0 was associated with 19% lower CVD risk (hazard ratio [95% CI] 0.81 [0.68 to 0.98]) and 26% lower coronary heart disease (CHD) risk (0.74 [0.60 to 0.92]). Associations were strengthened after mutual adjustment for 14:0 and trans-16:1n-7 and were similar after adjustment for potential mediators. Plasma phospholipid 14:0 and trans-16:1n-7 were not significantly associated with incident CVD or CHD. All findings were similar in white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese American participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma phospholipid 15:0, a biomarker of dairy fat, was inversely associated with incident CVD and CHD, while no association was found with phospholipid 14:0 and trans-16:1n-7. These findings support the need for further investigation of CVD effects of dairy fat, dairy-specific fatty acids, and dairy products in general.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Marcia C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Otto
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nettleton
authors.forename: Rozenn N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Lemaitre
authors.forename: Lyn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Steffen
authors.forename: Daan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kromhout
authors.forename: Stephen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rich
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Dariush
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mozaffarian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003611:Dairy Products; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000097:blood*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010743:Phospholipids
keywords: cardiovascular diseases; dairy fat; diet; fatty acids