Association of Dietary Fatty Acid Intake with Serum Highdensity Lipoprotein Particle Concentration.

Background: Studies have found that HDL particle (HDL-P) concentration is inversely associated with risk of CVD, independent of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). Dietary factors (such as fatty acid intake) have been found to affect levels of HDL-C and influence risk of CVD. However, little is known about the associations of dietary fatty acid with serum HDL-P levels. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that dietary fatty acid associations with HDL-P are independent of HDL-C in men. Methods: Data were from 463 male participants in the 1996-98 cross-sectional INTERLIPID Study, ages 40-59 years, randomly selected from five populations; four in Japan (n=386) and one in Hawaii (n=77). Fatty acid intake was estimated from the mean of four in-depth 24-hour dietary recalls (% kcal per day). Individuals were excluded due to missing data on HDL-P or HDL-C and use of lipid lowering medication. Serum HDL-P was measured using nuclear magnetic resonance and HDL-C was measured using standard methods. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between dietary fatty acid and each of the lipid measures. Results: In men, HDL-P and HDL-C were moderately correlated (r = 0.52, p<0.001). In Model 1 (Table), adjusted for age, country, alcohol intake, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, smoking status, and physical activity, most dietary fatty acids were significantly (p<0.05) associated with HDL-P and HDL-C levels. In Model 2, further adjusted for HDL-C, almost all fatty acids maintained a significant association with HDL-P. In contrast, most associations of fatty acids and HDL-C ceased to be significant after adjustment for HDL-P. Total SFA and omega-3 PUFA remained associated with HDL-C. Conclusion: HDL-P was significantly associated with fatty acid intake, independent of HDL-C. Associations of dietary fatty acid intake and HDL-C level were weaker and generally not independent of HDL-P in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]