Cross-sectional relationships between dietary fat intake and serum cholesterol fatty acids in a Swedish cohort of 60-year-old men and women.
BACKGROUND
The present study aimed to describe the relationship between self-reported dietary intake and serum cholesterol fatty acids (FAs) in a Swedish population of 60-year-old men and women.


METHODS
Cross-sectional data collected in 1997-1998 from 4232 individuals residing in Stockholm County were used. Five diet scores were created to reflect the intake of saturated fats in general, as well as fats from dairy, fish, processed meat and vegetable oils and margarines. Gas chromatography was used to assess 13 FAs in serum cholesterol esters. The association between each diet score and specific FAs was assessed by percentile differences (PD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile of each FA across levels of diet scores using quantile regression.


RESULTS
Fish intake was associated with high proportions of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For each point increase in fish score, the 50th PD in EPA and DHA was 32.78% (95% CI = 29.22% to 36.35%) and 10.63% (95% CI = 9.52% to 11.74%), respectively. Vegetable fat intake was associated with a high proportion of linoleic acid and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and a low proportion of total saturated fatty acids (SFA). The intake of saturated fats in general and dairy fat was slightly associated with specific SFA, although the intake of fat from meat was not.


CONCLUSIONS
In the present study population, using a rather simple dietary assessment method, the intake of fish and vegetable fats was clearly associated with serum PUFA, whereas foods rich in saturated fats in general showed a weak relationship with serum SFA. Our results may contribute to increased knowledge about underlying biology in diet-cardiovascular disease associations.
Unit of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
F
F
Laguzzi
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Z
Z
Alsharari
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
U
U
Risérus
Unit of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
M
M
Vikström
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
P
P
Sjögren
Unit of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
B
B
Gigante
Cardiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
M-L
ML
Hellénius
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
T
T
Cederholm
Unit of Biostatistics, Institutet of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
M
M
Bottai
Unit of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Cardiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
U
U
de Faire
Unit of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
K
K
Leander
D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003611:Dairy Products; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005511:Food Handling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008383:Margarine; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D010938:Plant Oils; D013548:Sweden
D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D010938:Plant Oils; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D008383:Margarine; D002784:Cholesterol; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid
blood and serum fatty acids; dairy products; dietary fats; fish intake; margarines; vegetable oils