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Fatty acids, hyperglycemia, and glycosylated hemoglobin in the United States (369.7)
Author(s) -
Yu Elaine,
Mehta Saurabh
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.369.7
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , odds ratio , body mass index , medicine , insulin resistance , logistic regression , hemoglobin , diabetes mellitus , odds , endocrinology , national health and nutrition examination survey , fatty acid , glycated hemoglobin , insulin , type 2 diabetes , chemistry , biochemistry , population , environmental health
Background: Insulin regulates fatty acid (FA) levels in the blood; on the other hand, FAs are known to affect insulin sensitivity and resistance and may represent modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Objective: We examined the associations of FAs and elevated blood glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose among individuals (n=1459) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003‐2004) in the United States and with available information on plasma FA concentrations. Methods: 24 different individual plasma FA concentrations (µmol/L) were categorized as sub‐groups (total saturated [SFAs], monounsaturated [MFAs], n‐3 polyunsaturated [n‐3 PUFAs], n‐6 polyunsaturated [n‐6 PUFAs], highly unsaturated [HUFAs], and total [TFAs] fatty acids). Blood HbA1c was assessed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC; Primus CLC330). Elevated HbA1c was defined as 蠅 6.5%. We examined associations between fatty acid sub‐groups, with HbA1c using logistic regression, accounting for complex survey design in both the overall sample and the subsets of individuals with and without elevated blood glucose (蠅126 mg/dL). Results: Among participants, 7.7% had HbA1c 蠅 6.5%. The highest quintile of plasma SFA concentration was associated with increased odds (odds ratio [OR]: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.3‐5.6; p<0.01) of having HbA1c 蠅 6.5%, adjusting for covariates (age, sex, ethnicity, smoking, and body mass index [BMI]). Similarly, the highest quintile of MUFA plasma concentration was associated with greater odds of having HbA1c 蠅 6.5% (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0‐4.7; p=0.04), after accounting for the same covariates. Conclusions: High plasma concentrations of SFA and MUFA are respectively associated with clinically significant hyperglycemia (HbA1c 蠅 6.5%) among U.S. participants in NHANES. Additional studies are necessary to understand causal relationships between FAs and diabetes, as well as implications for clinical management.