Comparison of fatty acid profile in plasma phospholipids in women from Granada (southern Spain) and Malmo (southern Sweden)

We conducted a first pilot study on healthy women living in two countries w ith different dietary habits,, Granada in the south of Spain and Malmo in t he south of Sweden, in order to compare their,levels of plasma phospholipid fatty acids. and to examine the relationship between the differences in fo od consumption, This study is part of a pilot study which is nested in the European Prospective Investigation,into Cancer and Nutrition, a multi-centr e prospective cohort study on diet, plasma concentrations of antioxidants a nd fatty acids, and markers of oxidative stress. Thirty-nine women in Granada and thirty-eight women in Malmo, aged, 45-50 y ears (all pre-menopausal) were selected among the female participants in th e cohorts from these two countries. Individual: measurements of the women's habitual diet were obtained by a food. frequency questionnaire. 24-hour di et recalls were used for the standardised measurement of diet at group leve l. Plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition was determined by capillary g as chromatography. We found a different fatty acid profile in plasma between,the two populatio ns, with higher mean levels of palmitic acid (16:0), palmitoleic acid (16: 1) (n-7), oleic acid (18:1), alpha-linolenic acid (18:3) (n-3) and eicosape ntaenoic acid (20:5) (n-3), and lower mean levels of stearic acid, (18:0) i n Malmo, compared to Granada. Women in Malmo consumed more meat. alcoholic beverages a nd su.-ar. and less fishy and shellfish than women in Granada. We conclude that the fatty acid composition in plasma phospholipids is diff erent between women from the two European centres, For polyunsaturated fatt y acids, differences were, observed for (n-3) fatty acids, In relation to t hese differences, we observed that specific food intakes, particularly meat and fish. varied between the two centres.