Low Omega‐3 Fatty Acid Status in Residents of the Guatemalan Pacific Coastal Plain

Abstract

BackgroundWith the exception of a dietary survey in schoolchildren showing lower‐than‐recommended intakes of essential fatty acids (EFAs), little is known about EFAs status in Guatemala.ObjectiveTo assess FA profiles in red cell membranes from adult women and school children in villages on the southern coastal plain of Guatemala.MethodsBHT‐protected red cell samples were prepared at the follow‐up collection period of an intervention study of a fat‐free fortified beverage from 158 women aged 15–49 y and 135 schoolchildren aged 6–11 y. Fatty acids were identified and quantified using gas‐liquid chromatography and reported in weight percent (Wt%).ResultsWith respect to the EFAs, children were significantly lower than the women in RBC membrane content for 20:3n6, 22:4n6 and 20:5n3, but had higher levels of 18:2n6, 20:4n6, 22:5n6, 22:5n3 and 22:6n3. The overall median omega‐3 proportion (EPA + DHA asWt%) was 3.58 Wt%, with 3.37 in women and 3.77 in children (p<0.05).ConclusionSpecifically for PUFAs, the indicators point to a less than optimal status for the n‐3 series in both subsamples.Funded by Cabcorp, Guatemala, Sight & Life, Basel and DSM Nutritional lipids of Columbia, MD.