title: Erythrocyte fatty acid status in a convenience sample of residents of the Guatemalan Pacific coastal plain.
abstract: We report the fatty acid composition, and in particular, the n-3 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), in erythrocytes from a convenience sample of 158 women and 135 schoolchildren residing in the southern Pacific Coast of Guatemala. Erythrocyte fatty acids were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography with flame ionization detection and the profiles were expressed as a weight percent; the Omega-3 Index values were also determined. Schoolchildren had significantly higher mean ARA and total n-6 fatty acid levels than the women. Women had significantly higher EPA fatty acid levels than schoolchildren, but the reverse was true for DHA. For mean total n-3 fatty acid concentration, women and schoolchildren had similar values. The red cell weight percentages of selected fatty acids were also similar in women and schoolchildren. As compared with erythrocyte fatty acid data from developed countries, Guatemalan women and schoolchildren had consistently lower LCPUFA values. The traditional diet of Guatemalans living in the Pacific coastal region provided a worse erythrocyte fatty acid profile than that typically obtained from a Western diet. Additional fatty acid composition studies with associated dietary intake data in other inland locations may be useful for the interpretation of the nutritional status of Guatemalan children and adults.
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala City, Guatemala.
authors.forename: Noel W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Solomons
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Lipids, DSM Nutritional Products, Columbia, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala City, Guatemala.
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Soto Méndéz
authors.affiliation: Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala City, Guatemala.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Sight and Life, Basel, Switzerland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kraemer
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Lipids, DSM Nutritional Products, Columbia, MD, USA. Electronic address: norman.salem@dsm.com.
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salem
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6
keywords: Docosahexaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Erythrocytes; Fatty acid composition; Guatemala