Journal of Clinical Lipidology · Dec 11, 2016

Relationship between changes in polyunsaturated fatty acids and aging-related arterial stiffness in overweight subjects 50 years or older over a 3-year period

By Baek SH, Kim M, Kim M et al.

BACKGROUND: Although aging-related elastic arterial stiffness is an independent indicator of cardiovascular risk, the roles of polyunsaturated fatty acids in this condition remain uncertain. OBJECTIVE: This prospective study examined the relationships of aging, persist overweight and plasma fatty acids with arterial stiffening over 3 years. METHODS: We divided a cohort of 179 healthy, nonhypertensive subjects (aged ≥50 years) into 2 groups: a normal-weight group (18.5 kg/m² ≤ body mass index [BMI] < 25 kg/m², n = 103) and an overweight group (25 kg/m² ≤ BMI< 30 kg/m², n = 76). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) and plasma fatty acids were measured at baseline and after 3 years. RESULTS: After 3 years, the overweight group showed greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, insulin, homeostasis model assessment-Insulin resistance index and ba-PWV values (P = .009) than the normal-weight group. In addition, greater reductions in eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:3, n-3, EPA; P = .009) and the EPA/arachidonic acid (C20:4, n-6, AA) ratio (P = .001) were found in the overweight group. Multivariate analyses revealed that changes in (Δ) ba-PWV were significantly and positively associated with baseline BMI values and ΔAA/linoleic acid ratios (C18:2, n-6, LA) and negatively associated with ΔEPA/AA ratios. In a subanalysis using baseline BMI values, Δba-PWV correlated strongly and negatively with ΔEPA/AA ratios (r = -0.595, P < .001) and positively with ΔAA/LA ratios (r = 0.455, P < .001) in the overweight group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the persistence of overweight over 3 years in subjects ≥50 years old is associated with faster arterial stiffening than is observed in normal-weight subjects and that this stiffening is independently associated with increases in AA/LA and decreases in EPA/AA ratios.

doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2016.12.002PubMed 28391885Populations