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Association of circulating saturated fatty acids with the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension: a nested case–control study

Abstract

Circulating saturated fatty acids (SFAs) have been associated with cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship of SFAs with the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). We conducted a nested case–control study to examine the associations between circulating SFAs and the risk of PIH. A total of 92 PIH cases were matched to 184 controls by age (±2 years) and infant sex from a birth cohort study conducted in Wuhan, China. Levels of circulating fatty acids in plasma were measured using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regressions were conducted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Even-chain SFAs, including myristic acid (14:0) and palmitic acid (16:0), were positively associated with the risk of PIH [ORs (95% CIs): 2.92 (1.27, 6.74) for 14:0 and 2.85 (1.18, 6.89) for 16:0, % by wt]. In contrast, higher levels of very-long-chain SFAs, including arachidic acid (20:0), behenic acid (22:0), and lignoceric acid (24:0), were associated with a lower risk of PIH [ORs (95% CIs): 0.40 (0.17, 0.92) for 20:0, 0.30 (0.12, 0.71) for 22:0 and 0.26 (0.11, 0.64) for 24:0, μg/mL]. For odd-chain SFAs, including pentadecanoic acid (15:0) and heptadecanoic acid (17:0), no significant difference was observed. Our results provided convincing evidence that different subclasses of SFAs showed diverse effects on the risk of PIH. This suggests that dietary very-long-chain SFAs may be a novel means by which to prevent hypertension. Future studies are required to confirm these associations and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the participants, staff, and students involved in the birth cohort study.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Plan (2016YFC0206700, 2016YFC0206203), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91743103, 21437002, 91643207), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (2018KFYXMPT00), and the Program for HUST Academic Frontier Youth Team (2018QYTD12).

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Li, X., Huang, Y., Zhang, W. et al. Association of circulating saturated fatty acids with the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension: a nested case–control study. Hypertens Res 43, 412–421 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-019-0383-7

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