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Table 2 Characteristics and plasma fatty acid profile of subjects in the highest and lowest tertiles

From: Plasma fatty acid levels and gene expression related to lipid metabolism in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: a cross-sectional study in healthy subjects

 

n-6 level

n-3 level

SFA/PUFA ratio

 

Highest tertile (n 18)

Lowest tertile (n 18)

P

Highest tertile (n 18)

Lowest tertile (n 18)

P

Highest tertile (n 18)

Lowest tertile (n 18)

P

Male/female

5/13

5/13

 

3/15

5/13

 

5/13

6/12

 

Age (years)

28 (23–33)

26 (21–29)

0.31

27 (21–31)

27 (21–28)

0.80

27 (22–29)

29 (23–33)

0.38

BMI (kg/m2)

22.5 ± 2.9

22.6 ± 2.6

0.94

22.2 ± 2

22.7 ± 3.3

0.57

23.3 ± 2.7

22.6 ± 2.6

0.41

Total-C (mmol/l)

4.9 ± 0.9

4.7 ± 1.1

0.65

4.9 ± 1

4.9 ± 1

0.96

4.7 ± 0.8

5.0 ± 0.9

0.25

LDL-C (mmol/l)

2.7 ± 0.8

2.6 ± 0.9

0.79

2.6 ± 0.9

2.8 ± 0.6

0.71

2.5 ± 0.6

2.8 ± 0.9

0.16

HDL-C (mmol/l)

1.6 ± 0.4

1.4 ± 0.3

0.15

1.6 ± 0.3

1.4 ± 0.4

0.28

1.5 ± 0.4

1.6 ± 0.3

0.74

TG (mmol/l)

0.8 (0.6–0.9)

1.4 (0.9–1.7)

0.01

0.9 (0.6–1.1)

1.2 (0.7–1.2)

0.30

1.3 (0.8–1.6)

0.8 (0.6–0.9)

0.01

Lymphocytes (%)

38.4 ± 6.8

43.0 ± 8.5

0.08

42.2 ± 10.0

37.6 ± 4

0.09

42.1 ± 8.7

37.4 ± 8.4

0.11

Monocytes (%)

8.5 ± 1.8

8.1 ± 1.9

0.49

8.1 ± 1.7

8.6 ± 2.3

0.42

8.8 ± 2.2

8.48 ± 2.0

0.71

Plasma level of fatty acids (wt%)

Total SFA

29.6 (28.8–30.5)

32.7 (31.1–33.2)

< 0.01

30.7 (29.3–32.3)

31.3 (29.8–31.8)

0.78

33.0 (31.5–33.2)

29.1 (28.7–29.5)

< 0.01

 Myristic acid (14:0)

0.8 (0.6–1.0)

1.2 (0.8–1.2)

< 0.01

0.9 (0.6–1.1)

1.0 (0.7–1.1)

0.57

1.2 (0.9–1.2)

0.7 (0.6–0.9)

< 0.01

 Palmitic acid (16:0)

20.8 (20.2–21.6)

23.5 (21.4–24.2)

< 0.01

21.9 (20.4–23.7)

22.2 (20.9–22.6)

0.39

23.8 (21.8–24.5)

20.7 (20.2–20.7)

< 0.01

 Stearic acid (18:0)

8.1 ± 0.7

8.1 ± 1.1

0.86

8.2 ± 1.1

8.0 ± 1.0

0.65

8.0 ± 1.1

7.7 ± 0.8

0.37

Total n-6

38.6 ± 1.3

30.3 ± 2.9

< 0.01

31.0 ± 4.0

31.5 ± 4.5

0.74

30.8 ± 3.4

38.0 ± 2.0

< 0.01

 LA (18:2n-6)

32.3 ± 1.6

24.9 ± 2.5

< 0.01

27.8 ± 3.8

29.2 ± 4.1

0.29

24.8 ± 2.5

31.8 ± 2.1

< 0.01

 AA (20:4n-6)

6.2 ± 1.1

5.4 ± 0.9

0.02

5.8 ± 0.7

6.2 ± 1.2

0.32

5.9 ± 1.3

6.2 ± 1. 1

0.58

Total n-3

5.8 ± 2.5

7.0 ± 2.3

0.12

9.0 ± 0.9

3.6 ± 0.49

< 0.01

6.1 ± 2.5

6.8 ± 2.4

0.44

 ALA (18:3n- 3)

0.6 (0.5–0.6)

0.5 (0.4–0.6)

0.46

0.5 (0.5–0.6)

0.5 (0.5–0.6)

0.79

0.5 (0.5–0.6)

0.5 (0.5–0.5)

0.95

 EPA (20:5n-3)

1.7 (0.6–2.3)

2.3 (1.8–2.9)

0.14

3.2 (2.8–3.7)

0.6 (0.5–0.6)

< 0.01

1.8 (0.7–2.6)

2.2 (1.3–3.2)

0.46

 DPA (22:5n-3)

0.6 ± 0.1

0.7 ± 0.2

0.26

0.8 ± 0.1

0.5 ± 0.1

< 0.01

0.6 ± 0.2

0.6 ± 0.1

0.80

 DHA (22:6n-3)

3.0 (1.9–4.1)

3.6 (3.1–4.1)

0.14

4.3 (4.1–4.7)

1.9 (1.8–2.1)

< 0.01

3.2 (2.0–4.1)

3.4 (2.8–4.3)

0.48

Total PUFA

44.4 (42.1–47.3)

37.3 (35.8–39.7)

< 0.01

42.6 (39.5–46.7)

40.4 (37.7–41.5)

0.05

36.9

(35.8–39.1)

44.7 (43.1–47.3)

< 0.01

SFA to PUFA ratio

0.7 (0.6–0.7)

0.8 (0.8–0.9)

< 0.01

0.7 (0.6–0.8)

0.8 (0.7–0.8)

0.13

0.9 (0.8–0.9)

0.7 (0.6–0.7)

< 0.01

  1. Lymphocytes and monocytes are given as percentage of total white cell count. Differences between tertiles were analyzed using the independent samples t test when normally distributed or the Mann-Whitney U test when not normally distributed. P values < 0.05 were considered significant and are presented in italic. Values are presented as mean ± SD or medians and 25th–75th percentile
  2. BMI body mass index, Total-C total cholesterol, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG triglycerides, SFA saturated fatty acid, LA linoleic acid, AA arachidonic acid, ALA alpha-linolenic acid, EPA eicosapentaenoic acid, DPA docosapentaenoic acid, DHA docosahexaenoic acid, PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acid