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. 2020 May 30;21(11):3899.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21113899.

Fatty Acid Profile and Desaturase Activities in 7-10-Year-Old Children Attending Primary School in Verona South District: Association between Palmitoleic Acid, SCD-16, Indices of Adiposity, and Blood Pressure

Sara Bonafini  1 , Alice Giontella  1 , Angela Tagetti  1 , Irene Bresadola  2 , Rossella Gaudino  2 , Paolo Cavarzere  2 , Diego Alberto Ramaroli  2 , Lorella Branz  2 , Denise Marcon  1 , Angelo Pietrobelli  2   3 , Pietro Minuz  1 , Franco Antoniazzi  2 , Claudio Maffeis  2 , Cristiano Fava  1
Affiliations

Fatty Acid Profile and Desaturase Activities in 7-10-Year-Old Children Attending Primary School in Verona South District: Association between Palmitoleic Acid, SCD-16, Indices of Adiposity, and Blood Pressure

Sara Bonafini et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

In previous studies, dietary and circulating fatty acids (FA) and desaturases activity (delta-5 desaturase [D5D], delta-6 desaturase [D6D], and stearoyl-CoA desaturase [SCD-16]) involved in their metabolism were associated with metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. The aim of the study was to assess the association between different FAs and desaturases activity (estimated as product:precursor ratios) with individual cardiovascular risk factors (in particular, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure [BP]) in children. The FA profile was determined on a whole-blood drop in 243 children (age: 8.6 ± 0.72 years) participating in a school-based cross-sectional study. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) inversely correlated with indices of adiposity, glucose, and triglycerides. Palmitoleic acid and SCD-16 were directly associated with markers of adiposity and BP, even after adjustment for main confounders. D6D correlated directly with the waist/height ratio. Children with excess weight (>85th percentile; that is overweight plus obese ones) showed higher palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, and higher SCD-16 activity as compared to normal-weight children. Most of the associations were confirmed in the excess-weight group. Omega-3 FAs, particularly DHA, but not omega-6 FA, showed a potentially beneficial association with metabolic parameters, whereas palmitoleic acid and SCD-16 showed a potentially harmful association with indices of adiposity and BP, especially in obese children.

Keywords: SCD-16; blood pressure; children; desaturase activity; obesity; palmitoleic acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fatty acid profile of children grouped according to gender (a), adiposity (b), and ethnicity (c). Legend: ALA: alpha-linolenic acid; EPA: eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; LA: linoleic acid;AA: arachidonic acid; OA: oleic acid; PA: palmitic acid; Pta: palmitoleic acid.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association of quartiles of palmitoleic acid and SCD-16 to overweight/obesity. Association of quartiles of palmitoleic acid (a) and SCD-16 (b) to overweight/obesity. Legend: CI: confidence interval; Q1: 1st quartile; Q2; 2nd quartile; Q3: 3rd quartile; Q4: 4th quartile.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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