Associations of Whole Blood n-3 and n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids with Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents - Results from the IDEFICS/I.Family Cohort.
BACKGROUND
Polyunsaturated n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are precursors of biologically active metabolites that affect blood pressure (BP) regulation. This study investigated the association of n-3 and n-6 PUFA and BP in children and adolescents.


METHODS
In a subsample of 1267 children aged 2-9 years at baseline of the European IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants) cohort whole blood fatty acids were measured by a validated gas chromatographic method. Systolic and diastolic BP was measured at baseline and after two and six years. Mixed-effects models were used to assess the associations between fatty acids at baseline and BP z-scores over time adjusting for relevant covariables. Models were further estimated stratified by sex and weight status.


RESULTS
The baseline level of arachidonic acid was positively associated with subsequent systolic BP (β = 0.08, P = 0.002) and diastolic BP (β = 0.07, P<0.001). In thin/normal weight children, baseline alpha-linolenic (β = -1.13, P = 0.003) and eicosapentaenoic acid (β = -0.85, P = 0.003) levels were inversely related to baseline and also to subsequent systolic BP and alpha-linolenic acid to subsequent diastolic BP. In overweight/obese children, baseline eicosapentaenoic acid level was positively associated with baseline diastolic BP (β = 0.54, P = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
Low blood arachidonic acid levels in the whole sample and high n-3 PUFA levels in thin/normal weight children are associated with lower and therefore healthier BP. The beneficial effects of high n-3 PUFA on BP were not observed in overweight/obese children, suggesting that they may have been overlaid by the unfavorable effects of excess weight.
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
Maike
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4943-2141
M
Wolters
Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Department of Preventive and Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
Valeria
V
Pala
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy.
Paola
P
Russo
DiSFeB, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Patrizia
P
Risé
GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Luis A
LA
Moreno
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Stefaan
S
De Henauw
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Kirsten
K
Mehlig
National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
Toomas
T
Veidebaum
National Institute of Health Promotion, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
Denés
D
Molnár
Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Michael
M
Tornaritis
DiSFeB, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Claudio
C
Galli
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.|Institute of Statistics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Wolfgang
W
Ahrens
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
Claudia
C
Börnhorst
D000293:Adolescent; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000097:blood
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid