Table 1 Fatty acid profile in overweight middle-aged men in the upper tertile of omega-3 index (HOI) compared to those in the two lower tertiles (LOI). All data are % wt/wt in erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and are presented as means ± standard deviations. Omega-3 index represents the sum of EPA + DHA concentrations. Statistically significant values at p < 0.05 are shown in bold

From: Higher omega-3 index is associated with increased insulin sensitivity and more favourable metabolic profile in middle-aged overweight men

 

LOI

HOI

p-value

n

31

16

 

C16:0 (palmitic acid)

22.5 ± 0.8

22.4 ± 0.6

0.60

C16:1n-7 (palmitoleic acid)

0.42 ± 0.14

0.41 ± 0.15

0.80

C18:0 (stearic acid)

18.7 ± 0.8

18.1 ± 0.7

0.001

C18:1n-9 (oleic acid)

14.3 ± 0.8

14.7 ±0.6

0.040

C18:1n-7 (cis-vaccenic acid)

1.38 ± 0.20

1.37 ± 0.12

0.60

C18:2n-6 (linoleic acid)

10.3 ± 1.4

9.5 ± 0.7

0.004

C18:3n-6 (γ-linolenic acid)

0.23 ± 0.10

0.21 ± 0.07

0.56

C18:3n-3 (α-linolenic acid)

0.17 ± 0.08

0.34 ± 0.86

0.37

C20:0 (arachidic acid)

0.43 ± 0.22

0.41 ± 0.19

0.64

C20:1n-9 (eicosenoic acid)

0.32 ± 0.18

0.34 ± 0.15

0.47

C20:2n-6 (eicosadienoic acid)

0.38 ± 0.21

0.42 ± 0.20

0.27

C20:3n-6 (dihomo-γ-linolenic acid)

2.25 ± 0.33

1.97 ± 0.43

0.001

C20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid)

17.8 ± 1.2

15.7 ± 1.1

<0.0001

C20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid)

1.27 ± 0.36

2.10 ± 0.66

<0.0001

C22:5n-3 (docosapentaenoic acid)

3.78 ± 0.53

4.00 ± 0.59

0.073

C22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid)

5.83 ± 0.80

8.02 ± 1.26

<0.0001

Omega-3 index

7.1 ± 0.8

10.1 ± 1.5

<0.0001

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