Whole Blood ω-3 Fatty Acids Are Inversely Associated with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Indigenous Mexican Women.
Long-chain ω-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. The association between n-3 PUFAs and cardiovascular disease may vary across different populations, and there is limited information on Hispanic individuals with mixed Amerindian and European origin.



We evaluated the cross-sectional relations between whole blood n-3 PUFAs and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in Mexican women living in Mexico and assessed whether this relation was different in women who spoke an indigenous language compared with women who did not.



In 2012-2013, we assessed the association between blood n-3 PUFAs and IMT in 1306 women free of disease in Chiapas and Yucatan, Mexico. We categorized blood n-3 PUFAs (% of total FAs) in quartiles and adjusted linear regression models by age, indigenous language, site, socioeconomic status, education, smoking, menopause, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, body mass index, physical activity, and diet. We stratified analyses by indigenous/nonindigenous language speakers (n = 315 of 991).



Whole blood n-3 PUFAs (means ± SDs) were 3.58% ± 0.78% of total FAs. We did not observe a significant association between n-3 PUFAs and IMT in the overall study population. However, the adjusted mean difference of IMT was -6.5% (95% CI: -10.7%, -2.3%; P-trend < 0.0001) for indigenous women in the highest quartile compared with the lowest quartile of blood n-3 PUFAs. In nonindigenous women, we did not observe an association (-0.6%; 95% CI: -3.0%, 1.8%, comparing extreme quartiles; P-trend = 1.00).



Overall, circulating n-3 PUFAs were not associated with IMT. However, we observed a strong statistically significant inverse association with IMT in indigenous Mexican women. Future studies should evaluate genetic markers that may reflect differences in n-3 PUFA metabolism across populations.
Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico;
Adriana
0000-0001-6997-1719
A
Monge
Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD; OmegaQuant Analytics, LLC, Sioux Falls, SD;
William S
0000-0003-3042-9353
WS
Harris
Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico;
Eduardo
0000-0002-3141-210X
E
Ortiz-Panozo
Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico;
Elsa
E
Yunes
National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Mexico City, Mexico; and.
Carlos
C
Cantu-Brito
National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Mexico City, Mexico; and.
Andres
A
Catzin-Kuhlmann
Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico;
Ruy
R
López-Ridaura
Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico; Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA mlajous@insp.mx.
Martín
M
Lajous
D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000473:pathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D044382:Population Groups
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3
Mexican women; cross sectional; indigenous; intima-media thickness; n–3 PUFA metabolism