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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #295889
Title: Plasma concentrations of trans fatty acids in persons with Type 2 diabetes between September 2002 and April 2004

Author
item SCHWENKE, D - Arizona State University
item FOREYT, JOHN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item MILLER, E - Johns Hopkins University School Of Medicine
item REEVES, R - Baylor College Of Medicine
item VITOLINS, M - Wake Forest University

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/2013
Publication Date: 4/20/2013
Citation: Schwenke, D.C., Foreyt, J.P., Miller, E.D., Reeves, R.S., Vitolins, M.Z. 2013. Plasma concentrations of trans fatty acids in persons with Type 2 diabetes between September 2002 and April 2004. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 97(4):862-871.

Interpretive Summary: There is a relationship between trans fatty acids (TFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the blood and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Because of this, food companies eliminated TFAs from their products. During this time, several studies examined whether or not TFAs from the blood of their subjects declined in parallel to food companies eliminating TFA from their products. Our study examined whether TFAs and PUFAs in the blood of patients with type 2 diabetes declined during the same period of time the food companies eliminated TFAs from their products and whether other fatty acids would increase. Results from this study showed that there was a decline in blood TFA consistent with the decline of TFA in food supply. During the middle of the study, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that food companies had to reformulate their products with new or different fats. We found that this resulted in a slight positive increase in saturated fatty acids (SFA) in subjects, along with a decrease in TFA after the publication by the FDA. This study has proved that TFAs have been decreased or eliminated in food supply. Further research though is needed to determine the effect of this decline on cardiovascular risks.

Technical Abstract: TransFatty acids (TFAs) increase cardiovascular disease risk. TFAs and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the food supply may be declining, with reciprocal increases in cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs). We sought to determine whether plasma 18-carbon TFA and PUFA concentrations might decrease over time and whether there might be reciprocal increases in plasma cis-MUFAs and SFAs. We studied 305 persons (171 women) taking part in Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes), a randomized trial of lifestyle intervention for weight loss to reduce major cardiovascular events in overweight and obese adults (aged 45-76 y) with type 2 diabetes who also participated in an ancillary study of oxidative stress. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of TFAs, cis-MUFAs, SFAs, and PUFAs measured in plasma before intervention (September 2002-April 2004). In a model that included demographic characteristics, plasma total fatty acid concentration, BMI, serum insulin, statin use, season, and longitudinal time trend (R**2 = 0.167, P < 0.0001), plasma TFAs decreased by 13.5%/y (95% CI: -22.7, -3.2%/y; absolute decrease 7.0 mg/L**-1/y(-1); 95% CI: -12.5, -1.6 mg · L**-1/y**-1; P = 0.012). This longitudinal trend was not significantly altered by further adjustment for dietary variables and physical activity. In contrast, longitudinal trends for PUFAs, cis-MUFAs, and SFAs were weak and not significant. We concluded that this change in plasma concentrations of TFAs is consistent with changes in fatty acid composition that food manufacturers are likely to have made to avoid declaring TFAs on food labels. Further research will be needed to determine the overall effect of these changes on cardiovascular risk.