title: Circulating and dietary omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and incidence of CVD in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dietary guidelines support intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in fish and vegetable oils. However, some controversy remains about benefits of PUFAs, and most prior studies have relied on self-reported dietary assessment in relatively homogeneous populations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a multiethnic cohort of 2837 US adults (whites, Hispanics, African Americans, Chinese Americans), plasma phospholipid PUFAs were measured at baseline (2000-2002) using gas chromatography and dietary PUFAs estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) events (including coronary heart disease and stroke; n=189) were prospectively identified through 2010 during 19 778 person-years of follow-up. In multivariable-adjusted Cox models, circulating n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were inversely associated with incident CVD, with extreme-quartile hazard ratios (95% CIs) of 0.49 for eicosapentaenoic acid (0.30 to 0.79; Ptrend=0.01) and 0.39 for docosahexaenoic acid (0.22 to 0.67; Ptrend<0.001). n-3 Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) was inversely associated with CVD in whites and Chinese, but not in other race/ethnicities (P-interaction=0.01). No significant associations with CVD were observed for circulating n-3 alpha-linolenic acid or n-6 PUFA (linoleic acid, arachidonic acid). Associations with CVD of self-reported dietary PUFA were consistent with those of the PUFA biomarkers. All associations were similar across racial-ethnic groups, except those of docosapentaenoic acid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both dietary and circulating eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, but not alpha-linolenic acid or n-6 PUFA, were inversely associated with CVD incidence. These findings suggest that increased consumption of n-3 PUFA from seafood may prevent CVD development in a multiethnic population.
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: Jason H Y
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baylin
authors.forename: Dhananjay
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vaidya
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: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood; D001213:Asian; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D044465:White People; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid
keywords: cardiovascular disease prevention; cardiovascular risk factors; diet; fatty acids