Fatty acid composition of adipose tissue, blood, lipids, and glucose tolerance in patients with different degrees of angiographically documented coronary arteriosclerosis.

Forty-eight patients with symptoms of angina pectoris were studied for adipose tissue fatty acid composition and cardiovascular risk factors while hospitalized for selective coronary angiography. Patients with manifest diabetes mellitus and deviations form the "normal" customary diet were excluded. Pairwise comparison between the groups with absent, slight, moderate, and severe coronary arteriosclerosis showed reasonable comparability for age, relative body weight, and skinfold measurements. The proportion of smokers, but not of hypertensives, showed a significant positive relationship with the degree of arteriosclerosis. Serum cholesterol was similar in all four groups, while triglycerides were clearly, but not significantly (P greater than 0.05) higher in patients with coronary arteriosclerosis. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) index was significantly higher in moderate and severe disease. Significantly higher proportions for palmitic acid lower proportions for linoleic acid were also found in these two groups. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a positive association with coronary arteriosclerosis for: OGTT index greater than palmitic acid greater than arachidonic acid greater than triglycerides. The close negative association between the proportion of stearic acid in adipose tissue and coronary heart disease observed in two previous studies could not be confirmed. On the basis of the present study, stearic acid correlates with age rather than with arteriosclerotic disease.