Plasma phospholipid long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and body weight change.

OBJECTIVE We investigated the association between the proportion of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in plasma phospholipids from blood samples drawn at enrollment and subsequent change in body weight. Sex, age, and BMI were considered as potential effect modifiers. METHOD A total of 1,998 women and men participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were followed for a median of 4.9 years. The associations between the proportion of plasma phospholipid long-chain n-3 PUFA and change in weight were investigated using mixed-effect linear regression. RESULTS The proportion of long-chain n-3 PUFA was not associated with change in weight. Among all participants, the 1-year weight change was -0.7 g per 1% point higher long-chain n-3 PUFA level (95% confidence interval: -20.7 to 19.3). The results when stratified by sex, age, or BMI groups were not systematically different. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that the proportion of long-chain n-3 PUFA in plasma phospholipids is not associated with subsequent change in body weight within the range of exposure in the general population.

Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;

This work is part of the project Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol, Cessation of Smoking, Eating out of Home and Obesity (PANACEA), which is supported by the European Union in the framework of the Public Health Programmme (Contract 2005328). The work was further supported by the European Commission: Public Health and Consumer Protection Directorate 1993–2004; Research Directorate-General 2005; Ligue contre le Cancer, Société 3M, Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale, Institut National de la Santé de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) (France); German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany); Danish Cancer Society (Denmark); ISCIII (RETICC RD06/0020) of the Spanish Ministry of Health, the participating regional governments and institutions (Spain); Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation, Department of Health, Food Standards Agency, The Wellcome Trust (UK); Greek Ministry of Health, Greek Ministry of Education, Hellenic Ministry of Health, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Hellenic Health Foundation (Greece); Italian Association for Research on Cancer, National Research Council (Italy); Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports, Dutch Ministry of Health, Dutch Prevention Funds, LK Research Funds, Dutch Zorg Onderzoek Nederland (ZON), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) (The Netherlands); and Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Scientific Council, Regional Government of Skane and Västerbotten (Sweden). This work is also part of the project Hepatic and Adipose Tissue and Functions in the Metabolic Syndrome (HEPADIP, www.hepadip.org), which is supported by the European Commission as an Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Programme (Contract LSHM-CT-2005-018734) and part of the research program of the Danish Obesity Research Centre (DanORC, www.danorc.dk), which is supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (Contract 2101-06-0005).