Plasma phospholipid pentadecanoic acid, EPA, and DHA, and the frequency of dairy and fish product intake in young children
Sammanfattning
Background: There is a lack of studies comparing dietary assessment methods with the biomarkers of fatty
acids in children.
Objective: The objective was to evaluate the suitability of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to rank
young children according to their intake of dairy and fish products by comparing food frequency estimates to
the plasma phospholipid fatty acids pentadecanoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA).
Design: Cross-sectional data for the present study were derived from the prospective cohort ‘Environmental
Triggers of Type 1 Diabetes Study’. Infants were recruited from the Norwegian general population during
20012007. One hundred and ten (age 310 years) children had sufficient volumes of plasma and FFQ filled
in within 2 months from blood sampling and were included in this evaluation study. The quantitative
determination of plasma phospholipid fatty acids was done by fatty acid methyl ester analysis. The association
between the frequency of dairy and fish product intake and the plasma phospholipid fatty acids was assessed by
a Spearman correlation analysis and by investigating whether participants were classified into the same quartiles
of distribution.
Results: Significant correlations were found between pentadecanoic acid and the intake frequency of total
dairy products (r0.29), total fat dairy products (r0.39), and cheese products (r0.36). EPA and DHA
were significantly correlated with the intake frequency of oily fish (r0.26 and 0.37, respectively) and cod
liver/fish oil supplements (r0.47 for EPA and r0.50 DHA). To a large extent, the FFQ was able to classify
individuals into the same quartile as the relevant fatty acid biomarker.
Conclusions: The present study suggests that, when using the plasma phospholipid fatty acids pentadecanoic
acid, EPA, and DHA as biomarkers, the FFQ used in young children showed a moderate capability to rank
the intake frequency of dairy products with a high-fat content and cod liver/fish oil supplements.
Keywor