THE ROLE OF SOCIOECONOMIC-STATUS AND SERUM FATTY-ACIDS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTAKE OF ANIMAL FOODS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK-FACTORS

Little is known regarding the relationship of serum fatty acids to car diovascular risk factors in Nigerian populations. Civil servants with higher socioeconomic status (SES) in Nigeria appear to be in cultural transition toward a more Westernized lifestyle. For this study the foo d intakes of 397 civil servants were estimated from two 24-h recalls. Fatty acids in serum total lipids were measured in both absolute weigh t concentration and percentage composition Daily meat intake was 43.5 g, and Fsh intake was 70.5 g. The intakes of meat, eggs, and milk were higher in high SES Nigerians than in low SES Nigerians. The concentra tion of total fatty acids (TFA, the sum of 12 serum fatty acids) was a lso higher in high SES men and women, as compared with low SES men and women (2064, 2060, 1831, find 1776 mg/L, respectively). There were si gnificant direct associations between meat intake and serum level of a rachidonic acid, and between Fsh intake and serum levels of eicosapent aenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. TFA was positively associated wi th cholesterol, low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), and trigly cerides across gender and SES groups after adjustment for body mass in dex, fasting insulin level, and age. Nigerian women were compared with two groups of American women. We concluded that fatty acids in absolu te weight concentration reflected the amount of fat intake. The level of TFA was directly related to cardiovascular risk factors in Nigerian s. Follow-up of such populations in cultural transition can facilitate the understanding of the true roles of animal food intake in the earl y evolution of atherosclerosis. Ann Epidemiol 1996; 6:290-298.