Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Apr;55(3):967-79.
doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-0911-4. Epub 2015 May 1.

Longitudinal associations of serum fatty acid composition with type 2 diabetes risk and markers of insulin secretion and sensitivity in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study

Markus J Takkunen  1 , Ursula S Schwab  2   3 , Vanessa D F de Mello  2 , Johan G Eriksson  4   5   6   7 , Jaana Lindström  8 , Jaakko Tuomilehto  8   9   10   11 , Matti I J Uusitupa  2   12 ; DPS Study Group
Affiliations

Longitudinal associations of serum fatty acid composition with type 2 diabetes risk and markers of insulin secretion and sensitivity in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study

Markus J Takkunen et al. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the longitudinal associations of serum fatty acid composition with type 2 diabetes, insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity over several years.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study derived from the randomized Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. Total serum fatty acid composition was measured using gas chromatography in 407 overweight, middle-aged people with impaired glucose tolerance at baseline (1993-1998) and annually during the intervention period (1994-2000). Longitudinal associations of 20 fatty acids and three desaturase activities (Δ5 (20:4n-6/20:3n-6, D5D), Δ6 (18:3n-6/18:2n-6, D6D), stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (16:1n-7/16:0, SCD-1)) with type 2 diabetes incidence, and estimates of insulin sensitivity (Matsuda), secretion (ratio of insulin and glucose concentrations) and β-cell function (disposition index) by an oral glucose tolerance test were analyzed using Cox regression and linear mixed models. We validated estimated D5D and D6D using a known FADS1 gene variant, rs174550.

Results: The baseline proportions of 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3 and 22:6n-3, and D5D were associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes during a median follow-up of 11 years (HR per 1SD: 0.72, 0.74, 0.73, 0.78, respectively, P ≤ 0.01). These long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and D5D were associated with higher insulin sensitivity in subsequent years but not with disposition index. Saturated, monounsaturated and trans fatty acids and 18:3n-3, 18:2n-6, SCD-1 and D6D were inconsistently associated with type 2 diabetes or related traits.

Conclusions: Serum long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and D5D predicted lower type 2 diabetes incidence in people at a high risk of diabetes attending to an intervention study; a putative mechanism behind these associations was higher insulin sensitivity.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Cohort study; Fatty acid desaturases; Omega-3 fatty acids; Serum fatty acids; Type 2 diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2012 Feb;23(1):4-10 - PubMed
    1. PLoS Genet. 2012;8(8):e1002793 - PubMed
    1. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Dec;1243:47-53 - PubMed
    1. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Jul;78(1):91-8 - PubMed
    1. Diabetes Care. 2003 Dec;26(12):3230-6 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources