Relationship of serum fatty acid composition and desaturase activity to C-reactive protein in Japanese men and women

Abstract

a b s t r a c tBackground: Although fatty acid composition in serum and desaturase activity, which alters serum fatty acid composition, has been associated with C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration in Western populations, no study has been carried out in non-Western populations. We examined the association of serum fatty acids and estimated desaturase activity with CRP concentrations in Japanese men and women. Methods: Subjects were 489 Japanese municipal employees aged 21-67 years who participated in a survey at the time of a periodic health check-up. Serum high-sensitivity CRP concentrations were measured using the latex agglutination nephelometry method. Fatty acid composition was measured in serum cholesteryl esters and desaturase activities by fatty acid product-to-precursor ratios. Relationships were assessed using multiple regression. Results: Serum CRP concentration was positively associated with palmitic acid (P for trend = 0.002) and inversely with alpha-linolenic acid (P for trend = 0.01) in men, and positively with dihomogamma-linolenic acid (P for trend in men or women = 0.01) and inversely with delta-5-desaturase (20:4n-6/20:3n-6) (P for trend in men and women = 0.05 and 0.002, respectively) in men and women. Conclusions: Low-grade inflammation may be associated with a serum fatty acid pattern of high palmitic acid or low alpha-linolenic acid in men, and of high dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid or low delta-5-desaturase in both sexes.

Dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome in a Japanese working population

“…Data used in this study are derived from a 2006 health survey among employees of two municipal offices in northeastern Kyushu, Japan, as described elsewhere [25,26]. In brief, at the time of the periodic health examination, all full time workers (n = 601) except those on long sick or maternity leave were invited to the survey.…”

Erythrocyte saturated fatty acids and systemic inflammation in adults

“…For example, in a prospective cohort of 395 Portuguese, neither palmitic nor stearic acid intake was associated with CRP [35]. In a cross-sectional survey among 489 healthy Japanese adults, CRP was found to have a significant and positive association with serum palmitic but not stearic acid, and this relationship was only observed in men [38]. In another cross-sectional study of 528 young Canadian adults, CRP was found to have a significant and positive association with plasma palmitic acid but a significant and inverse association with stearic acid; these correlations were only observed in women and were independent of ethnicity [39].…”

Association of desaturase activity and C-reactive protein in European children

“…However, such effects may be relevant in the Japanese study including school children with a mean age of around 11 y but are improbable in our sample of young and thus mostly prepubertal children. In 489 Japanese adults, serum CRP concentration was inversely associated with D5D in men and women (32).…”