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Plasma phospholipid concentration of cis-palmitoleic acid and risk of heart failure

Luc Djoussé1, Natalie L Weir, Naomi Q Hanson

  • 1Division of Aging, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02120, USA. ldjousse@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

Circulation. Heart Failure
|October 16, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Higher levels of plasma cis-palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid, are linked to an increased risk of heart failure in men. This finding suggests a potential biomarker for cardiovascular disease risk.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Nutritional Epidemiology
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Plasma palmitoleic acid is associated with adverse metabolic and inflammatory markers.
  • The link between plasma cis-palmitoleic acid and heart failure risk remains uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if plasma phospholipid cis-palmitoleic acid levels are associated with the risk of developing heart failure.

Main Methods:

  • An ancillary study of the Physicians' Health Study utilized risk set sampling to match 788 cases of heart failure with controls.
  • Plasma phospholipid fatty acids were quantified using gas chromatography.
  • Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was employed to assess associations.

Main Results:

  • A positive trend was observed between increasing quartiles of plasma cis-palmitoleic acid and heart failure risk (P for trend = 0.009).
  • Each standard deviation increase in cis-palmitoleic acid was associated with a 17% higher odds of heart failure.
  • Increased stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity was also linked to higher heart failure risk, while oleic and cis-vaccenic acids showed no association.

Conclusions:

  • Plasma phospholipid cis-palmitoleic acid is positively associated with an increased risk of heart failure in male physicians.
  • This fatty acid may serve as a potential biomarker for heart failure risk stratification.
Abstract

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