Relationship of the polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio to cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in japanese: the INTERLIPID study

Aim: there have been few studies on the relationships of the dietary polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio (p/s) to cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome. we hypothesized that there would be favorable relationships. & methods: metabolic cardiovascular risk factors from dietary nutrient intake were investigated in 1,004 men and women aged 40-59 years from 4 population samples of japanese. multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of the dietary p/s ratio to the following risk factors: hemoglobin a1c,blood pressure,serum triglycerides,ldl and total cholesterol,and hdl-cholesterol. adjusted odds ratio of having metabolic syndrome was also calculated. & results: the dietary p/s ratio was significantly and inversely related to serum total and ldl cholesterol with control for possible confounding variables. we did not find any significant relationship between the p/s ratio and single metabolic risk factors or the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. & conclusions: managing the p/s ratio is important to control serum ldl-cholesterol; however,increasing the p/s ratio may not improve metabolic risk factors. other countermeasures,such as weight control,greater physical activity,and smoking cessation should be recommended to prevent and control metabolic syndrome.