Associations of abdominal obesity and plasma fatty acids with microvascular diseases

The independent and interactive associations of abdominal obesity and fatty acids with the risk of microvascular diseases (MVDs) are still unclear.

We conducted a prospective cohort study of 88,571 participants aged 40-69 years from the UK Biobank. Plasma fatty acids were quantified at baseline using high-throughput nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and were analyzed in quartiles, with the lowest quartile of each fatty acid subtype as the reference. Cox regression models were employed to assess the associations between fatty acid levels and incident MVDs, with adjustment for relevant covariates.

Over a median follow-up of 13.7 years, higher levels of total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), n-3 PUFAs, and n-6 PUFAs are associated with a significantly lower risk of MVDs. The hazard ratios (HRs) for the highest versus lowest quartile (Q4 vs. Q1) are 0.81 (95% CI: 0.75-0.87), 0.89 (95% CI: 0.83-0.96), and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.79-0.91), respectively. Conversely, higher levels of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are associated with a higher risk of MVDs. Furthermore, an antagonistic additive interaction is observed between n-3 PUFAs and abdominal obesity (RERI: -0.14, 95% CI: -0.25- -0.03).

Higher plasma PUFAs are associated with a lower risk of MVDs. Furthermore, the association between n-3 PUFAs and a lower risk of MVDs is more pronounced among individuals with abdominal obesity. These findings contribute to the limited prospective evidence on the associations between plasma-specific fatty acids and MVDs.