Genome-wide association study of Red Blood Cell fatty acids in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study

Red blood cell (RBC) proportions of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have well established relationships with a variety of disease phenotypes and risk factors, including total mortality [1], acute coronary syndrome [2,3], serum lipid levels [4], inflammatory markers [5], cognitive function [6] and brain size [7,8] among others. Variation in RBC omega-3 fatty acid levels (i.e., proportions, expressed as a percent of total fatty acids) have been reported to possess a strong heritable component (24-70%) [4,9], suggesting that not only dietary but also genetic factors play an important role in explaining differences between individuals [10,11].
Source: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tags: Original research article Source Type: research