RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASMA ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACIDS AND SMOKING, SERUM-LIPIDS, BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HEMOSTATIC AND RHEOLOGICAL FACTORS

We aimed to determine whether levels of plasma fatty acids are correla ted with other potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease, usin g a sample of patients from a cross-sectional survey of the general po pulation, in the City of Edinburgh. 306 men and women aged 55-74 years of whom half had clinical evidence of arterial disease were tested. T he main outcome measures were plasma fatty acids and potential risk fa ctors for cardiovascular disease (age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, s erum cholesterol, HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), lipid peroxides (LPx), plasma fibrinogen, von-Willebrand factor (vWf), beta- thromboglobulin (beta TG), cross-linked fibrin degradation products (F IBDP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor PAI). High levels of several known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases were associated with l ow levels of certain essential fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic (EPA), do cosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) were negatively ass ociated with smoking and TG levels. High levels of certain haemostatic factors, including plasma fibrinogen, blood viscosity and LPx were al so associated with low levels of EPA, DHA, AA and HDL-C. In conclusion , plasma fatty acids show strong correlations with many potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease, emphasising their possible import ance in pathogenesis.