Inverse Association between <i>trans</i> Isomeric and Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns: Data from Three European Countries

Abstract

Background:trans unsaturated fatty acids are thought to interfere with essential fatty acid metabolism. To extend our knowledge of this phenomenon, we investigated the relationship between trans isomeric and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in mothers during pregnancy and in their infants at birth. Methods: Fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) was determined in Spanish (n = 120), German (n = 78) and Hungarian (n = 43) women at the 20th and 30th week of gestation, at delivery and in their newborns. Results: At the 20th week of gestation, the sum of trans fatty acids in PE was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in Hungarian [0.73 (0.51), % wt/wt, median (IQR)] than in Spanish [1.42 (1.36)] and German [1.30 (1.21)] women. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) values in PE were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in Hungarian [5.65 (2.09)] than in Spanish [4.37 (2.60)] or German [4.39 (3.3.2)] women. The sum of trans fatty acids significantly inversely correlated to DHA in PCs in Spanish (r = –0.37, p < 0.001), German (n = –0.77, p < 0.001) and Hungarian (r = –0.35, p < 0.05) women, and in PEs in Spanish (r = –0.67, p < 0.001) and German (r = –0.71, p < 0.001), but not in Hungarian (r = –0.02) women. Significant inverse correlations were seen between trans fatty acids and DHA in PEs at the 30th week of gestation (n = 241, r = –0.52, p < 0.001), at delivery (n = 241, r = –0.40, p < 0.001) and in cord lipids (n = 218, r = –0.28, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Because humans cannot synthesize trans isomeric fatty acids, the data obtained in the present study support the concept that high maternal trans isomeric fatty acid intake may interfere with the availability of LCPUFA both for the mother and the fetus.

trans Isomeric fatty acids are inversely related to the availability of long-chain PUFAs in the perinatal period

“…We recently compared the contribution of TFAs to erythrocyte membrane phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine lipids at the 20th week of gestation in pregnant Spanish (n = 120), German (n = 78), and Hungarian (n = 43) women entering into an n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation trial (9). The sum of TFAs did not differ between the 3 groups in phosphatidylcholine lipids ( Figure 1).…”

“…There are at least 6 studies that reported TFA values in blood lipids in pregnant women who were investigated before delivery (8,9,(25)(26)(27)(28). (Here we do not discuss several other studies addressing the question of maternal blood obtained at delivery, because we believe that many hormonal variables may considerably influence the fatty acid composition of blood lipids investigated close to delivery.)…”

“…In blood lipids of both women at different stages of pregnancy (8,9) and their offspring at birth (10)(11)(12) as well as in human milk (HM) (13)(14)(15), inverse associations were reported between TFAs and various LC-PUFAs. Because LC-PUFAs are important for neurodevelopment in infancy (16)(17)(18)(19), the potentially untoward effect of TFA exposure also has been receiving increased attention within the pediatric community for w15 y (20).…”

Validation of a FFQ for estimating ω-3, ω-6 and trans fatty acid intake during pregnancy using mature breast milk and food recalls

“…3 Conversely, higher trans fatty acid content in the maternal diet has been associated with low birth weight, 4 and is inversely associated with erythrocyte cell membrane LCPUFA concentrations in pregnant women and their newborns. 5 The assessment of dietary intake during pregnancy is a challenge for epidemiological studies. 6 Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are widely used in studies investigating the association of food intake and health outcomes.…”

Non-esterified fatty acids of blood serum in type 1 diabetic women during late pregnancy

“…В целом это свидетельствует об отсутствии различий качественном составе НЭЖК у женщин, составивших исследуемые группы. Сходные профили НЭЖК в крови человека были ранее установлены и другими авторами [11][12][13][14]. В отличие от этого, в количественном содержании индивидуальных НЭЖК между исследуемыми группами выявлены существенные различия.…”