Plasma lipid composition in an elderly population: correlation with dietary fat.

The effects of dietary fat on plasma lipid composition were studied in a population of 51 elderly subjects (19 men, 32 women) who lived in a retirement home in the province of Jaén (southern Spain). Dietary intake of fat was elevated (106 and 115 g/day in men and women respectively), and fatty acid intake consisted of 40% oleic acid, 17% linoleic acid and 0.7% linolenic acid. Cholesterol intake was 506 and 518 mg/day in men and women respectively, whereas the plasma level of cholesterol was approximately 250 mg/dl in both sexes. In men and women, HDL-cholesterol levels were 71.5 and 62.2 mg/dl, and LDL-cholesterol levels were 153.5 and 152.3 mg/dl. The most abundant circulating fatty acid was palmitic acid (25%) in both sexes, followed by oleic (23%) and linoleic acid (15-16%), whereas linolenic acid represented only 0.3% of the plasma fatty acids. To determine whether plasma levels of fatty acids served as reliable biological markers of dietary fatty acid intake, we compared the two sets of values, and found that higher intake was reflected in higher plasma levels, although a significant linear correlation (p < 0.05) was found only for linolenic acid.