High levels of nonesterified fatty acids are associated with increased familial risk of cardiovascular disease

To address the question of whether elevated concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascula r disease, we measured NEFA concentrations in 140 diabetic and 343 nondiabe tic unrelated Swedish subjects with a family history of type 2 diabetes and related the findings to history of cardiovascular disease in their parents . Parents of nondiabetic offspring belonging to the quartile of highest NEF A concentrations had a higher risk of myocardial infarction (35% versus 16% , P<0.01) and stroke (45% versus 16%, P<0.0005) than did parents of offspri ng from the lowest NEFA quartile, In a multiple logistic regression analysi s, a high NEFA concentration in offspring was significantly associated with myocardial infarction and stroke in their parents. No such relationship wa s observed between diabetic offspring and their parents, Assuming that the same relationship between NEFA concentrations and cardiovascular disease is seen in the offspring and their parents, the findings suggest that elevate d NEFA concentration is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and could be pathogenically involved in the atherosclerotic process.