Associations of dairy and fiber intake with circulating odd-chain fatty acids in post-myocardial infarction patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Circulating odd-chain fatty acids pentadecanoic (15:0) and heptadecanoic acid (17:0) are considered to reflect dairy intake. In cohort studies, higher circulating 15:0 and 17:0 were associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk. A recent randomized controlled trial in humans suggested that fiber intake also increased circulating 15:0 and 17:0, potentially resulting from fermentation by gut microbes. We examined the associations of dairy and fiber intake with circulating 15:0 and 17:0 in patients with a history of myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods

We performed cross-sectional analyses in a subsample of 869 Dutch post-MI patients of the Alpha Omega Cohort who had data on dietary intake and circulating fatty acids. Dietary intakes (g/d) were assessed using a 203-item food frequency questionnaire. Circulating 15:0 and 17:0 (as % of total fatty acids) were measured in plasma phospholipids (PL) and cholesteryl esters (CE). Spearman correlations (r _s ) were computed between intakes of total dairy, dairy fat, fiber, and circulating 15:0 and 17:0.

Results

Patients were on average 69?years old, 78% was male and 21% had diabetes. Total dairy intake comprised predominantly milk and yogurt (69%). Dairy fat was mainly derived from cheese (47%) and milk (15%), and fiber was mainly from grains (43%). Circulating 15:0 in PL was significantly correlated with total dairy and dairy fat intake (both r _s ?=?0.19, p?r _s ?=?0.05, p?=?0.11). Circulating 17:0 in PL was correlated both with dairy intake (r _s ?=?0.14 for total dairy and 0.11 for dairy fat, p?r _s ?=?0.19, p?r _s ?=?0.11, p?=?0.001). Circulating 15:0 was highest in those with high dairy intake irrespective of fiber intake, while circulating 17:0 was highest in those with high dairy and fiber intake.

Conclusions

In our cohort of post-MI patients, circulating 15:0 was associated with dairy intake but not fiber intake, whereas circulating 17:0 was associated with both dairy and fiber intake. These data suggest that cardiometabolic health benefits previously attributed to 17:0 as a biomarker of dairy intake may partly be explained by fiber intake.

SUBMITTER: Pertiwi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6854617 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature