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Lipids and cardiovascular/metabolic health

Associations of serum n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids with plasma natriuretic peptides

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 963–969 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but little is known about their association with natriuretic peptides (NPs), a marker for CVD risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum n-3 and n-6 PUFAs with NPs.

Subjects/Methods:

A cross-sectional analysis of the association between serum n-3 and n-6 PUFAs with plasma N-terminal atrial (NT-proANP) and brain (NT-proBNP) NPs in a population-based sample of 985 men aged 46–65 years from Eastern Finland.

Results:

After adjustment for age and examination year, only serum n-6 PUFA arachidonic acid (ARA) was inversely associated with NT-proANP (P-trend across quartiles=0.02), but further adjustments for conventional risk factors (body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and history of CVD) attenuated the association (P-trend=0.10). The associations with the other PUFAs were not statistically significant. Among the PUFAs, only serum n-3 PUFA docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; P-trend=0.03) and ARA (P-trend=0.02) had inverse associations with NT-proBNP after adjustment for age and examination years. The associations were again attenuated after further adjustments but remained statistically significant for DPA (P-trend=0.05). Our results also suggested that the inverse associations may be more evident among those using beta-blockers.

Conclusions:

Our study suggests little overall impact of serum n-3 or n-6 PUFAs on plasma NPs.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the University of Eastern Finland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, Kuopio, Finland

    R Daneshmand, S Kurl, T-P Tuomainen & J K Virtanen

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  1. R Daneshmand
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  2. S Kurl
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Correspondence to J K Virtanen.

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Daneshmand, R., Kurl, S., Tuomainen, TP. et al. Associations of serum n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids with plasma natriuretic peptides. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 963–969 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.58

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