Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032175. Epub 2012 Mar 5.
Dietary trans fatty acids (dTFA) are primarily synthetic compounds that have been introduced only recently; little is known about their behavioral effects. dTFA inhibit production of omega-3 fatty acids, which experimentally have been shown to reduce aggression. Potential behavioral effects of dTFA merit investigation. We sought to determine whether dTFA are associated with aggression/irritability. METHODOLGY/PRINICPAL FINDINGS: We capitalized on baseline dietary and behavioral assessments in an existing clinical trial to analyze the relationship of dTFA to aggression. Of 1,018 broadly sampled baseline subjects, the 945 adult men and women who brought a completed dietary survey to their baseline visit are the target of this analysis. Subjects (seen 1999-2004) were not on lipid medications, and were without LDL-cholesterol extremes, diabetes, HIV, cancer or heart disease. Outcomes assessed adverse behaviors with impact on others: Overt Aggression Scale Modified-aggression subscale (primary behavioral endpoint); Life History of Aggression; Conflict Tactics Scale; and self-rated impatience and irritability. The association of dTFA to aggression was analyzed via regression and ordinal logit, unadjusted and adjusted for potential confounders (sex, age, education, alcohol, and smoking). Additional analyses stratified on sex, age, and ethnicity, and examined the prospective association. Greater dTFA were strongly significantly associated with greater aggression, with dTFA more consistently predictive than other assessed aggression predictors. The relationship was upheld with adjustment for confounders, was preserved across sex, age, and ethnicity strata, and held cross-sectionally and prospectively.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides the first evidence linking dTFA with behavioral irritability and aggression. While confounding is always a concern in observational studies, factors including strength and consistency of association, biological gradient, temporality, and biological plausibility add weight to the prospect of a causal connection. Our results may have relevance to public policy determinations regarding dietary trans fats. Clinicaltrials.gov # NCT00330980.
膳食反式脂肪酸（dTFA）主要是人工合成的化合物，最近才被引入；关于它们的行为影响知之甚少。dTFA 会抑制 ω-3 脂肪酸的生成，而实验表明 ω-3 脂肪酸可以减少攻击性。因此，有必要对 dTFA 的潜在行为影响进行研究。我们试图确定 dTFA 是否与攻击性/易怒有关。
方法/主要发现：我们利用现有的临床试验中的基线饮食和行为评估，分析了 dTFA 与攻击性的关系。在 1018 名广泛采样的基线受试者中，有 945 名成年男女在基线就诊时提交了一份完整的饮食调查，这是本分析的目标人群。这些受试者（1999-2004 年就诊）未服用降脂药物，且 LDL 胆固醇水平无极端情况、无糖尿病、HIV、癌症或心脏病。使用会影响他人的不良行为进行评估：明显攻击性量表改良攻击性子量表（主要行为终点）；攻击性生活史；冲突策略量表；以及自我报告的急躁和易怒。通过回归和有序逻辑回归分析 dTFA 与攻击性的关系，未调整和调整潜在混杂因素（性别、年龄、教育、酒精和吸烟）。此外，还按性别、年龄和种族进行了分层分析，并检查了前瞻性关联。dTFA 与攻击性呈显著正相关，dTFA 比其他评估攻击性的预测指标更具预测性。在调整混杂因素后，这种关系仍然成立，在性别、年龄和种族分层中仍然存在，并且在横断面和前瞻性研究中都存在。
结论/意义：本研究首次提供了 dTFA 与行为烦躁和攻击性之间联系的证据。虽然在观察性研究中，混杂因素始终是一个问题，但关联的强度和一致性、生物学梯度、时间性和生物学合理性等因素增加了因果关系的可能性。我们的研究结果可能与关于膳食反式脂肪的公共政策决策有关。Clinicaltrials.gov # NCT00330980。
