Table 3

Levels of some selected serum fatty acids (g/L) at baseline and after 36 months, in the placebo (corn oil) and the n-3 PUFA supplemented groups. Median values (25, 75 percentiles) are given.


placebo (corn oil)
n-3 PUFA




Baseline (n = 139)
36 Months (n = 114)
Baseline (n = 139)
36 Months (n = 122)
p


Linoleic acid, 18:2n-6
1.59 (1.33, 1.82)
1.58 (1.36, 1.81)
1.70 (1.47, 1.96)
1.47 (1.24, 1.70)b
<0,001
AA, 20:4n-6
0.23 (0.20, 0.27)
0.25 (0.21, 0.30)b
0.22 (0.19, 0.27)
0.21 (0.18, 0.25)b
<0,001
ALA, 18:3n-3
0.030 (0.022, 0. 39)
0.031 (0.024, 0.037)
0.033 (0.026, 0.043)
0.031 (0.025, 0.042)
ns
EPA, 20:5n-3
0.076 (0.049, 0.13)
0.070 (0.041, 0.11)a
0.081 (0.051, 0.14)
0.22 (0.17, 0.27)b
<0,001
DHA, 22:6n-3
0.14 (0.12, 0.19)
0.14 (0.11, 0.18)
0.17 (0.12, 0.20)
0.20 (0.16, 0.23)b
<0,001
Sum n-6
1.82 (1.57, 2.11)
1.86 (1.58, 2.06)
1.94 (1.68, 2.22)
1.68 (1.44, 1.94)b
<0,001
Sum n-3
0.27 (0.20, 0.38)
0.26 (0.21, 0.35)
0.31 (0.22, 0.41)
0.49 (0.39, 0.57)b
<0,001
Ratio omega-6/omega-3
6.85 (4.75, 9.27)
7.08 (5.35, 9.44)
6.36 (4.70, 8.37)
3.40 (2.69, 4.28)b
<0,001
Total fatty acids in serum
5.31 (4.58, 6.22)
5.04 (4.40, 5.70)
5.29 (4.60, 6.25)
4.73 (4.05, 5.59)b
0.011

AA: Arachidonic acid, ALA: Alphalinolenic acid, EPA: Eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA: Docosahexaenoic acid.

a p < 0.05, b p < 0.01 refer to within group changes from baseline to 36 months

p: refers to differences in changes from baseline to 36 months between the group

Eid et al. Nutrition & Metabolism 2006 3:4   doi:10.1186/1743-7075-3-4