Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2011 Mar 25;6(3):e17967. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017967.
Whether intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), could prevent cardiovascular diseases is not yet clear. We examined the associations of ALA intake with 10-year incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in the Netherlands.
Data were collected from a general population of 20,069 generally healthy men and women, aged 20 to 65 years. Habitual diet was assessed at baseline (1993-1997) with a validated 178-item food frequency questionnaire. Incidences of CHD and stroke were assessed through linkage with mortality and morbidity registers. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, gender, lifestyle, and dietary factors.
During 8-13 years of follow-up, we observed 280 incident CHD events (19% fatal) and 221 strokes (4% fatal). Intakes of energy-adjusted ALA in quintiles ranged from less than 1.0 g/d in the bottom quintile (Q1) to more than 1.9 g/d in the top quintile (Q5). ALA intake was not associated with incident CHD, with HRs varying between 0.89 and 1.01 (all p>0.05) in Q2-Q5 compared with the bottom quintile of ALA intake. For incident stroke, however, participants in Q2-Q5 had a 35-50% lower risk compared with the reference group. HRs were 0.65 (0.43-0.97), 0.49 (0.31-0.76), 0.53 (0.34-0.83), and 0.65 (0.41-1.04) for Q2-Q5 respectively.
In this general Dutch population, ALA intake was not associated with incident CHD. The data suggested that a low intake of ALA may be a risk factor for incident stroke. These results warrant confirmation in other population-based studies and in trials.
α-亚麻酸（ALA）是一种来源于植物的 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA），其是否能够预防心血管疾病尚不明确。我们研究了 ALA 摄入量与荷兰人群冠心病（CHD）和卒中 10 年发生率的相关性。
研究数据来自一般人群，共纳入 20069 名年龄 20-65 岁的一般健康男性和女性。基线时（1993-1997 年）采用经过验证的 178 项食物频率问卷评估习惯性饮食。通过与死亡率和发病登记处的关联来评估 CHD 和卒中的发生率。采用多变量 Cox 比例风险模型计算危险比（HR），并调整了年龄、性别、生活方式和饮食因素。
在 8-13 年的随访期间，我们观察到 280 例 CHD 事件（19%为致死性）和 221 例卒中（4%为致死性）。ALA 摄入量按五分位数范围从最低五分位数（Q1）的<1.0 g/d 到最高五分位数（Q5）的>1.9 g/d。ALA 摄入量与 CHD 发生率无关，与 Q2-Q5 相比，Q1 组的 HR 范围为 0.89-1.01（均 P>0.05）。然而，对于卒中事件，Q2-Q5 组的风险降低了 35-50%。HR 分别为 0.65（0.43-0.97）、0.49（0.31-0.76）、0.53（0.34-0.83）和 0.65（0.41-1.04）。
在本荷兰一般人群中，ALA 摄入量与 CHD 发生率无关。数据表明，ALA 摄入量低可能是卒中事件的一个危险因素。这些结果需要在其他基于人群的研究和试验中得到证实。
