Open AccessBiomarkers of Dairy Fatty Acids and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in the Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Author(s) -
Oliveira Otto Marcia C.,
Nettleton Jennifer A.,
Lemaitre Rozenn N.,
M. Steffen Lyn,
Kromhout Daan,
Rich Stephen S.,
Y. Tsai Michael,
Jacobs David R.,
Mozaffarian Dariush
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the american heart association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.494
H-Index - 85
ISSN - 2047-9980
DOI - 10.1161/jaha.113.000092
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , prospective cohort study , cohort , disease , biomarker , cohort study , lower risk , physiology , endocrinology , confidence interval , biochemistry , chemistry
Background Evidence regarding the role of dairy fat intake in cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) has been mixed and inconclusive. Most earlier studies have used self‐reported measures of dietary intake and focused on relatively racially homogeneous populations. Circulating biomarkers of dairy fat in a multiethnic cohort provide objective measures of dairy fat intake and facilitate conclusions relevant to populations with different diets and susceptibility to CVD . Methods and Results In a multiethnic cohort of 2837 US adults aged 45 to 84 years at baseline (2000–2002), phospholipid fatty acids including 15:0, 14:0, and trans‐ 16:1n7 were measured using standardized methods, and the incidence of CVD prospectively adjudicated. Self‐reported whole‐fat dairy and butter intakes had strongest associations with 15:0, rather than 14:0 or trans‐ 16:1n7. In multivariate models including demographics and lifestyle and dietary habits, each SD ‐unit of 15:0 was associated with 19% lower CVD risk (hazard ratio [95% CI ] 0.81 [0.68 to 0.98]) and 26% lower coronary heart disease ( CHD ) risk (0.74 [0.60 to 0.92]). Associations were strengthened after mutual adjustment for 14:0 and trans ‐16:1n‐7 and were similar after adjustment for potential mediators. Plasma phospholipid 14:0 and trans ‐16:1n‐7 were not significantly associated with incident CVD or CHD . All findings were similar in white, black, H ispanic, and C hinese American participants. Conclusion Plasma phospholipid 15:0, a biomarker of dairy fat, was inversely associated with incident CVD and CHD , while no association was found with phospholipid 14:0 and trans‐ 16:1n‐7. These findings support the need for further investigation of CVD effects of dairy fat, dairy‐specific fatty acids, and dairy products in general.