Published Online
on July 3, 2006

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 18, 2006

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Submitted on February 10, 2006
Revised on April 26, 2006
Accepted on May 10, 2006

Plasma Phospholipid Trans Fatty Acids, Fatal Ischemic Heart Disease, and Sudden Cardiac Death in Older Adults. The Cardiovascular Health Study

Rozenn N. Lemaitre PhD, MPH^*, Irena B. King PhD, Dariush Mozaffarian MD, MPH, Nona Sotoodehnia MD, MPH, Thomas D. Rea MD, MPH, Lewis H. Kuller MD, PhD, Russel P. Tracy PhD, and David S. Siscovick MD, MPH

From the University of Washington, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine (R.N.L., N.S., T.D.R., D.S.S.), Cardiology Division (N.S.), and Department of Epidemiology (D.S.S.), Seattle, Wash; the Public Health Sciences Division (I.B.K.), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Wash; the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine (D.M.), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; the Public Health-Seattle and King County Emergency Medical Services Division (T.D.R.), Seattle, Wash; the Department of Epidemiology (L.H.K.), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa; and the Department of Pathology (R.P.T.), University of Vermont, Colchester, Vt.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rozenl{at}u.washington.edu.

Background--Intake of trans fatty acids is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. Whether different classes of trans fatty acids show similar associations is unclear. We previously reported an association of sudden cardiac death with red cell membrane trans-18:2 but not trans-18:1 fatty acids. To extend these findings, we investigated the associations of plasma phospholipid trans fatty acids with fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD) and sudden cardiac death.

Methods and Results--We conducted a case-control study nested in the Cardiovascular Health Study. We identified 214 cases of fatal IHD (fatal myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease death) between 1992 and 1998. We randomly selected 214 controls, matched to cases on demographics, prevalent cardiovascular disease, and timing of blood draw. Plasma phospholipid fatty acids were assessed in blood samples collected earlier. Higher levels of plasma phospholipid trans-18:2 fatty acids were associated with higher risk of fatal IHD (odds ratio [OR] for interquintile range 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21 to 2.33) after adjustment for risk factors and trans-18:1 levels. Trans-18:1 levels above the 20th percentile were associated with lower risk (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.63). In analyses limited to cases of sudden cardiac death (n=95), higher levels of trans-18:2 fatty acids were associated with higher risk (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.31) and higher trans-18:1 with lower risk (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.54).

Conclusions--Higher levels of trans-18:2 and lower levels of trans-18:1 fatty acids are associated with higher risks of fatal IHD and sudden cardiac death. If confirmed, these findings suggest that current efforts at decreasing trans fatty acid intake in foods should take into consideration the trans-18:2 content.

Key words: myocardial infarction • death, sudden • fatty acids • epidemiology

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