Associations of plasma n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors among Chinese

Tao Huang, Tianxing Shou, Nidan Cai, Mark L. Wahlqvist, Duo Li

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13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The relationship between plasma fatty acid (FA) levels and hypertension in Chinese is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between plasma phospholipid (PL) FAs and hypertension in Chinese subjects. One thousand one hundred and fifty-four subjects in Hangzhou, China, were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Two hundred and fourteen (160 males, 54 females) subjects with hypertension and 940 (664 males, 276 females) healthy subjects were identified. The prevalence of hypertension in females (19.6%) was significantly higher than that in males (16.4%). Compared with healthy subjects, hypertensive subjects showed significantly lower plasma PL 22:5n3 (p 0.017), 22:6n3 (p 0.008), PL polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; p < 0.001), n3 PUFA (p 0.015), n6 PUFA (p < 0.001) and 20:4n6 (p < 0.010). PL n3 PUFA [odds ratio (OR) 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.291.19] and n3:n6 (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.121.86) were inversely associated with hypertension. However, plasma saturated fatty acid (SFA; OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.052.98) was significantly positively associated with hypertension. PL SFA was significantly positively associated with systolic blood pressure (p 0.048), whereas plasma PL monounsaturated FA was significantly positively associated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP; p 0.009) in hypertensive subjects. PL PUFA (p 0.022) and n3 PUFA (p 0.047) were significantly negatively associated with DBP in hypertensive subjects. Our results suggest that plasma PL n3 PUFA was significantly inversely associated with hypertension in Chinese. It would seem appropriate for hypertensive subjects to increase their dietary n3 PUFA which may help reduce BP.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)667-673
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition
Volume63
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Hypertension
  • Phospholipids
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acid
  • Prevalence

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