Adipose Tissue Fatty Acid Patterns and Changes in Anthropometry: A Cohort Study

IntroductionDiets rich in n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), but low in n-6 LC-PUFA and 18:1 trans-fatty acids (TFA), may lower the risk of overweight and obesity. These fatty acids have often been investigated individually. We explored associations between global patterns in adipose tissue fatty acids and changes in anthropometry.
Methods34 fatty acid species from adipose tissue biopsies were determined in a random sample of 1100 men and women from a Danish cohort study. We used sex-specific principal component analysis and multiple linear regression to investigate the associations of adipose tissue fatty acid patterns with changes in weight, waist circumference (WC), and WC controlled for changes in body mass index (WCBMI), adjusting for confounders.
Results7 principal components were extracted for each sex, explaining 77.6% and 78.3% of fatty acid variation in men and women, respectively. Fatty acid patterns with high levels of TFA tended to be positively associated with changes in weight and WC for both sexes. Patterns with high levels of n-6 LC-PUFA tended to be negatively associated with changes in weight and WC in men, and positively associated in women. Associations with patterns with high levels of n-3 LC-PUFA were dependent on the context of the rest of the fatty acid pattern.
ConclusionsAdipose tissue fatty acid patterns with high levels of TFA may be linked to weight gain, but patterns with high n-3 LC-PUFA did not appear to be linked to weight loss. Associations depended on characteristics of the rest of the pattern.

**引言** 富含n-3长链多不饱和脂肪酸（n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, LC-PUFA）、且低n-6 LC-PUFA与18:1反式脂肪酸（18:1 trans-fatty acids, TFA）的膳食，或可降低超重与肥胖的发病风险。过往针对这类脂肪酸的研究多以单组分形式开展。本研究旨在探讨脂肪组织脂肪酸整体谱与人体测量指标变化之间的关联。

**方法** 本研究基于一项丹麦队列研究的随机样本，对1100名男女受试者的脂肪组织活检样本中的34种脂肪酸组分进行了定量检测。本研究采用性别特异性主成分分析（principal component analysis）与多元线性回归（multiple linear regression）方法，在校正混杂因素后，分析脂肪组织脂肪酸谱与体重、腰围（waist circumference, WC）以及校正体重指数（body mass index, BMI）变化后的腰围（WCBMI）变化之间的关联。

**结果** 本研究分别为男女两组提取出7个主成分，分别解释了男性与女性体内77.6%与78.3%的脂肪酸变异度。高TFA含量的脂肪酸谱在男女两组中均与体重及WC变化呈正向关联趋势。高n-6 LC-PUFA含量的脂肪酸谱在男性群体中与体重及WC变化呈负向关联趋势，而在女性群体中则呈正向关联趋势。高n-3 LC-PUFA含量的脂肪酸谱与指标变化的关联，则取决于该谱中其余脂肪酸组分的构成特征。

**结论** 高TFA含量的脂肪组织脂肪酸谱或与体重增加存在关联，但高n-3 LC-PUFA含量的脂肪酸谱似乎并未与体重减轻存在关联。这类关联的方向与强度，取决于该脂肪酸谱中其余组分的构成特征。