Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
Atherosclerosis. 2014 Jan;232(1):79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.10.028. Epub 2013 Nov 6.
Prospective studies have supported the beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acid consumption on cardiac deaths, but limited data focused on atherosclerosis. We investigated the associations between n-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes and atherosclerosis in middle-aged and older Chinese.
847 subjects (285 men and 562 women), aged 40-65 years, from Guangzhou, China were included in this community-based cross-sectional study between December 2005 and January 2008. The levels of α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in erythrocytes were measured by gas chromatography. Carotid ultrasound examination was conducted to obtain intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery and the carotid bifurcation. Dietary data and other covariates were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires.
After adjustment for age, sex, and other confounders, negative dose-response associations between the contents of individual n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the erythrocyte membrane and the prevalence of carotid artery wall thickening and plaque were observed. A comparison in the highest and lowest tertiles gave odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for thickening in the walls of the common carotid artery of 0.58 (0. 34-0.97; P-trend = 0. 037) for DHA, and 0.39 (0.23-0.67; P-trend < 0.001) for ALA. However, EPA was not significantly associated with carotid atherosclerosis. Similar results were found for thickening at the carotid bifurcation and the occurrence of carotid artery plaque.
Higher levels of DHA and ALA in the erythrocyte membrane were significantly associated with a lower burden of subclinical atherosclerosis.
前瞻性研究支持 n-3 脂肪酸摄入对心脏死亡的有益影响，但针对动脉粥样硬化的有限数据。我们研究了红细胞中 n-3 脂肪酸与中国中年和老年人动脉粥样硬化之间的关系。
2005 年 12 月至 2008 年 1 月期间，在中国广州进行了这项基于社区的横断面研究，共纳入 847 名年龄在 40-65 岁之间的受试者（285 名男性和 562 名女性）。通过气相色谱法测量红细胞中 α-亚麻酸（ALA）、二十碳五烯酸（EPA）和二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）的水平。通过颈动脉超声检查获得颈总动脉和颈动脉分叉处的内-中膜厚度。使用访谈者管理的问卷收集饮食数据和其他协变量。
在调整年龄、性别和其他混杂因素后，红细胞膜中个体 n-3 多不饱和脂肪酸含量与颈动脉壁增厚和斑块的患病率之间呈负剂量反应关系。最高和最低三分位组之间的比较显示，颈总动脉壁增厚的比值比（95%置信区间）为 0.58（0.34-0.97；P 趋势=0.037）对于 DHA，ALA 为 0.39（0.23-0.67；P 趋势<0.001）。然而，EPA 与颈动脉粥样硬化无显著相关性。在颈动脉分叉处增厚和颈动脉斑块发生方面也得到了类似的结果。
红细胞膜中 DHA 和 ALA 水平较高与亚临床动脉粥样硬化负担较低显著相关。
