title: Dietary α-Linolenic Acid and Total ω-3 Fatty Acids Are Inversely Associated with Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Older Women, but Not in Older Men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Associations of α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus decosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and total omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid (FA) intakes with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) are not well understood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the associations between baseline and long-term changes in ω-3 FA consumption and AAC severity among community-dwelling older men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study used a subset of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study in which participants were interviewed in 1990-1994 and again in 2010-2011. Dietary intake was evaluated at both baseline and follow-up with use of food-frequency questionnaires. AAC severity was assessed by both lateral thoraco-lumbar radiography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 312 participants aged 45-64 y old at baseline were followed for a duration of (mean ± SD) 18 ± 1 y. Baseline energy-adjusted ALA intake tended to be inversely associated with AAC severity by radiography [OR (95% CI) for tertile 3 vs. tertile 1: 0.49 (0.23, 1.02), P-trend: 0.06] and was inversely associated with AAC severity by DXA [OR (95% CI) for tertile 3 vs. tertile 1: 0.37 (0.16, 0.83)] in women, after adjustment for confounders. Women in the third tertile of total ω-3 FA intake had significantly lower AAC severity by radiography [OR (95% CI): 0.33 (0.16, 0.71)] and DXA [OR (95% CI): 0.27 (0.12, 0.62)] than those in the first tertile. Changes in tertile of ω-3 FA intake over 18 y were not found to be associated with AAC severity in either men or women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggest that dietary ALA and total ω-3 FA intakes are both important predictors of the development of AAC in older women, but not in older men.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Medical School-Western Campus, Melbourne, Australia; Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, Australia; xshang@student.unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Xianwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Medical School-Western Campus, Melbourne, Australia; Institute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia;
authors.forename: Kerrie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Medical School-Western Campus, Melbourne, Australia; Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Medical School-Western Campus, Melbourne, Australia; Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, Delhi, India;
authors.forename: Belal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology Centre, The Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; and.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Diwan Chand Satyapal Aggarwaal Diagnostic Imaging Research Centre, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Nayab
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology Centre, The Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; and.
authors.forename: Dallas R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: English
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology Centre, The Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; and.
authors.forename: Graham G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Ebeling
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid
keywords: abdominal aortic calcification.; decosahexaenoic acid; eicosapentaenoic acid; α-linolenic acid; ω-3 fatty acids