Dietary fatty acids and inflammatory markers in patients with coronary artery disease

Atherosclerosis, with its major manifestation, coronary artery disease (CAD) is a chronic inflammatory disease. Dietary fatty acids intakes favorably effect on inflammatory responses. This study was conducted to examine the association between dietary fatty acid intakes and inflammatory markers, interleukin 6 (IL‑6) and high sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP), in CAD patients among Iranian population.

This hospital‑based, cross‑sectional study was conducted in Chamran Heart Hospital, Isfahan, Iran in 2012. Patients aged ≥45 years with first ever symptomatic CAD confirmed by angiography were included. A semi‑quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the usual intakes of dietary fatty acids.

The energy‑adjusted daily intakes (mean ± SD) of saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), linoleic acid, a‑linolenic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA + DHA) were 27 ± 9, 22 ± 6, 21 ± 5, 0.4 ± 0.32, and 0.85 ± 0.82 g/d; respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, SFA was directly related to hs‑CRP (P = 0.01) and IL‑6 (P < 0.001) concentrations. Intakes of EPA + DHA and MUFA, were significantly adversely related to plasma hs‑CRP concentration (P = 0.002 and 0.001, respectively) but not IL‑6, albeit MUFA was modestly inversely related to IL‑6 (P = 0.08). No significant relationships were observed for other fatty acids, a‑linolenic acid, and linoleic acid.

These findings suggest that saturated fatty acids, EPA + DHA and MUFA were significantly related to plasma inflammatory markers in CAD patients.