Plasma phospholipid fatty acid patterns are associated with adiposity and the metabolic syndrome in black South Africans: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Diets rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) have been associated with increased risk of obesity and the metabolic syndrome (MetS), but the evidence is inconsistent, whereas diets high in n-3 long-chain (LC)-PUFAs are associated with lower risk. There is limited information about the association of plasma phospholipid fatty acids (FAs) with obesity and the MetS among black South Africans. Objective: To investigate the association of dietary FAs and plasma phospholipid FA patterns, respectively, with measures of adiposity (body mass index, waist circumference, waist-toheight ratio) and the MetS in black South Africans. Methods: Factor analysis was used to identify FA patterns from 11 dietary FAs and 26 individual plasma phospholipid FAs. Cross-sectional association of the identified patterns with measures of adiposity and the MetS was investigated. A random sample of 711 black South African adults aged 30 to 70 years (273 men, 438 women) from the North West Province was selected from the South African leg of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Sequential regression models adjusted for confounders were applied to investigate the association between dietary FAs and plasma phospholipid FA patterns with measures of adiposity and the MetS. Results: Two patterns were derived from dietary FAs and six patterns from plasma phospholipid FAs that explained the cumulative variance of 89 and 73%, respectively. The association of FA patterns with adiposity and the MetS was weaker for dietary FA patterns than for plasma phospholipid FA patterns. The plasma phospholipid FA pattern with high loadings of saturated FAs (high-Satfat) and another with high loadings of n-3 very-long-chain PUFAs (n-3 VLC-PUFAs) were positively associated with measures of adiposity and the MetS, while patterns with positive loadings of LC monounsaturated fatty acids (n-9 LC-MUFA) and a positive loading of n-3 essential FAs (n-3 EFA) showed inverse associations with the MetS and some measures of adiposity. Conclusions: The n-9 LC-MUFA and n-3 EFA patterns seemed to provide possible protective associations with adiposity and the MetS, whereas the high-Satfat and n-3 VLC-PUFA patterns were associated with adiposity and the MetS in our study participants. The results are reflective of the metabolic difference between overweight and obese compared to lean individuals.

Circulating and Adipose Tissue Fatty Acid Composition in Black South African Women with Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In contrast, higher total SFA in RBC-TPL, but not in SAT depots, was associated with lower S I . These findings are similar to a previous study in black SA individuals showing a positive association between SFAs in plasma phospholipids and measures of adiposity and metabolic syndrome [50]. High intake of dietary SFA may significantly increase IR via alterations of desaturases activity (mainly D5D and D9D) in cell membrane phospholipids and inhibition of insulin-stimulated Akt activation followed by the reduction in glucose uptake [16,56].…”

“…SCD1-16 is involved in the endogenous synthesis of MUFA from SFA and is mainly active in AT, where it plays a central role for de novo synthesis and storage of excess energy as triglycerides [17]. Accordingly, oleic acid (18:1n-9) has been reported as the major species in adipose triglycerides [12,44,[48][49][50]. Similarly, oleic acid was the most abundant FA in SAT depots (32.5%) in our study.…”

Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Are Associated with Blood Pressure and Hypertension over 10-Years in Black South African Adults Undergoing Nutritional Transition

“…We reported dietary and fat intake profiles across urbanisation categories in line with previously reported baseline dietary intake for the complete cohort ( n 1950) [5] implying generalizability of our results to the population of black South Africans. Herein reported plasma fatty acid profiles are comparable to recent report within larger sample ( n 711) [18] of the same cohort of black South Africans participating PURE, outweighing potential concern on the limited sample size of 300 subjects. Of note, 10-year attrition rate might have blurred some of the associations.…”

“…In middle-aged and elderly Chinese community dwellers, serum patterns presenting with high DHA levels were inversely associated with BP [12] and hypertension status [17]. Recent data from the PURE study showed association between plasma phospholipid fatty acid patterns and obesity and metabolic syndrome in black South African adults [18], however the link with vascular function has not yet been examined in the population.…”

Is There a FADS2-Modulated Link between Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Plasma Phospholipids and Polyphenol Intake in Adult Subjects Who Are Overweight?

“…By contrast, glucomannan-enriched Aronia juice with around 600 mg/100g polyphenols tended to reduce body weight and significantly reduced BMI in women with abdominal obesity after 4 weeks [15], which might be due to the glucomannan effects [48]. Furthermore, a number of epidemiological studies demonstrated a link between fatty acids in plasma phospholipids and parameters of obesity and metabolic syndrome [4,49]. Cross sectional-studies also reported the inverse association between EPA levels in erythrocyte membranes and BMI [50] and subjects who are obese had lower EPA levels in plasma phospholipids in comparison with their lean counterparts [51].…”