Plasma fatty acid composition and some markers of dietary habits are associated with cardiovascular disease risk determined by an atherogenic plasma index in postmenopausal women

Joanna Bajerska 1, Aleksandra Skoczek-Rubińska 2, Lidia Małczak 2, Vesna Vucic 3, Aleksandra Arsic 3, Milica Kojadinovic 3, Danijela Ristic-Medic 3

1 Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624 Poznań, Poland. Electronic address: joanna.bajerska@up.poznan.pl.
2 Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624 Poznań, Poland.
3 Group for Nutritional Biochemistry and Dietology, Centre of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade PO BOX 102, Serbia.

It is hypothesized that plasma proportion of selected fatty acids (FAs) and dietary habits are linked with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the association of plasma FA composition and markers of dietary habits with an atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), a predictor of CVD risk in postmenopausal women. In total, 87 postmenopausal women with an average age of 57 ± 7 years were recruited and their dietary intake, anthropometric and biochemical parameters, and FA status in total plasma lipid proportions were determined, showing that 65.5% of the participants had a high risk of CVD according to their AIP value. After adjusting for some confounders (age, body mass index, and physical activity level), the risk of CVD was only positively associated with the frequency of consumption of animal fat spreads (butter and lard) of terrestrial origin. Regarding the FA profile, CVD risk was positively associated with the percentages of vaccenic acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA; mainly n-7) in total FA, as well as the MUFA/SFA ratio in total plasma and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-16 activity (16:1/16:0 ratio). In contrast, the risk of CVD was negatively associated with percentages of α-linolenic acid, total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and PUFA/MUFA ratio in total plasma lipid, and the estimated activity of Δ5-desaturase (20:4/20:3 n-6 ratio). These results support the current recommendations to decrease the frequency of animal fat spread intake because it is associated with a reduced CVD risk based on AIP in postmenopausal women. In accordance with these plasma percentages of ALA, vaccenic acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, PUFA, PUFA/MUFA ratio, and 16:1/16:0 ratio may be important parameters in CVD risk assessment.

Keywords: Atherogenic index of plasma; Cardiovascular risk; Dietary intake; Fatty acids; Postmenopausal women

Nutr Res. 2023 Jul;115:47-60. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2023.05.008.