Klein-Platat C, Drai J, Oujaa M et al. Plasma fatty acid composition is associated with the metabolic syndrome and low-grade inflammation in overweight adolescents. Am J Clinical Nutrition, 2005; 82 (6), 1178-1184.

Background:
Together with adiposity, plasma fatty acid (FA) composition can modulate the development of the metabolic syndrome (MS).

Objective:
Our aim was to investigate the relations of FA composition in plasma phospholipids and cholesterol esters (CEs) with weight status, MS, and inflammation in adolescents.

Design:
Plasma FA composition was measured by gas-liquid chromatography in 120 (60 normal-weight and 60 overweight) 12-y-old adolescents.
We also measured the presence of MS, insulin resistance with the homeostasis model assessment, and interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein concentrations in the adolescents.

Results:
MS was present in 25% of the overweight adolescents but in none of the normal-weight adolescents.
Compared with overweight adolescents, normal-weight adolescents had lower saturated FAs (SFAs) in both phospholipids (P < 0.001) and CEs (P < 0.01) and higher docosahexaenoic acid in phospholipids (P < 0.001). In overweight subjects, FA composition was associated with MS features independent of body fat.

The odds ratios of MS for a 0.1 increase in the ratio of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA) to SFAs (PUFA:SFA) were 0.91 in phospholipids (P = 0.03) and 0.90 in CEs (P = 0.06). In phospholipids, PUFA:SFA and linoleic acid were associated positively with HDL cholesterol (P < 0.01 for both).
PUFA:SFA in phospholipids and CEs were associated inversely with interleukin 6 (P < 0.05 for both).

Eicosapentaenoic acid in phospholipids (P = 0.06) and CEs (P < 0.05) and linolenic acid in CEs (P < 0.05) were inversely related to C-reactive protein.
These relations remained significant after adjustment for the waist-to-hip ratio.
No significant relation between FA composition and the homeostasis model assessment was observed.

Conclusions:
Plasma FA composition is associated with weight status in healthy adolescents. High intake of long-chain PUFAs, especially n3 PUFAs, may protect obese subjects against MS and low-grade inflammation as early as adolescence.

Gordon CM, DePeter KC, Feldman HA. Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency Among Healthy Adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med., 2004;158(6):531-537.

Background: Although vitamin D deficiency has been documented as a frequent problem in studies of young adults, elderly persons, and children in other countries, there are limited data on the prevalence of this nutritional deficiency among healthy US teenagers.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adolescents presenting for primary care.

Design: A cross-sectional clinic-based sample.

Setting: An urban hospital in Boston.

Participants: Three hundred seven adolescents recruited at an annual physical examination to undergo a blood test and nutritional and activity assessments.

Main Outcome Measures: Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and parathyroid hormone, anthropometric data, nutritional intake, and weekly physical activity and lifestyle variables that were potential risk factors for hypovitaminosis D.

Results: Seventy-four patients (24.1%) were vitamin D deficient (serum 25OHD level, 15 ng/mL [37.5 nmol/L]), of whom 14 (4.6%) were severely vitamin D deficient (25OHD level, 8 ng/mL [20 nmol/L]).
By using a broader definition (25OHD level, 20 ng/mL [50 nmol/L]), 129 patients (42.0%) were vitamin D insufficient. Serum 25OHD levels were inversely correlated with parathyroid hormone levels (r = ?0.29), and were 24% lower during winter compared with summer.
In a final multivariate model, season, ethnicity, milk and juice consumption, body mass index, and physical activity were significant independent predictors of hypovitaminosis D.

Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was present in many US adolescents in this urban clinic-based sample. The prevalence was highest in African American teenagers and during winter, although the problem seems to be common across sex, season, and ethnicity.

Iribarren C, Markovitz J, Jacobs D, et al. Dietary intake of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish: relationship with hostility in young adults--the CARDIA study. Eur J Clin Nutr 2004; 58(1):24-31.

BACKGROUND: Hostility has been shown to predict both the development and manifestation of coronary disease. Examining the inter-relation of dietary intake of fish and of polyunsaturated (n-3 and n-6) essential fatty acids with hostility may provide additional insights into the cardioprotective effect of dietary fish and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of dietary n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish with level of hostility in a sample of 3581 urban white and black young adults.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study as part of an ongoing cohort study. A dietary assessment in 1992-1993 and measurement of hostility and other covariates in 1990-1991 were used in the analysis.

RESULTS: The multivariate odds ratios of scoring in the upper quartile of hostility (adjusting for age, sex, race, field center, educational attainment, marital status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity) associated with one standard deviation increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6) intake was 0.90 (95% CI=0.82-0.98; P=0.02).

Consumption of any fish rich in n-3 fatty acids, compared to no consumption, was also independently associated with lower odds of high hostility (OR=0.82; 95% CI=0.69-0.97; P=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that high dietary intake of DHA and consumption of fish rich in n-3 fatty acids may be related to lower likelihood of high hostility in young adulthood.

The association between dietary n-3 fatty acids and hostile personality merits further research.

Antalis CJ, Stevens LJ, Campbell M, et al. Omega-3 fatty acid status in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prostag Leukot Essent Fatty Acids,2006;75(4-5):299-308.

Lower levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, in blood have repeatedly been associated with a variety of behavioral disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The exact nature of this relationship is not yet clear.
We have studied children with ADHD who exhibited skin and thirst symptoms classically associated with essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency, altered plasma and red blood cell fatty acid profiles, and dietary intake patterns that do not differ significantly from controls. This led us to focus on a potential metabolic insufficiency as the cause for the altered fatty acid phenotype.

Here we review previous work and present new data expanding our observations into the young adult population. The frequency of thirst and skin symptoms was greater in newly diagnosed individuals with ADHD (n=35) versus control individuals without behavioral problems (n=112) drawn from the Purdue student population.

A follow up case-control study with participants willing to provide a blood sample, a urine sample, a questionnaire about their general health, and dietary intake records was conducted with balancing based on gender, age, body mass index, smoking and ethnicity. A number of biochemical measures were analyzed including status markers for several nutrients and antioxidants, markers of oxidative stress, inflammation markers, and fatty acid profiles in the blood.

The proportion of omega-3 fatty acids was found to be significantly lower in plasma phospholipids and erythrocytes in the ADHD group versus controls whereas saturated fatty acid proportions were higher. Intake of saturated fat was 30% higher in the ADHD group, but intake of all other nutrients was not different.

Surprisingly, no evidence of elevated oxidative stress was found based on analysis of blood and urine samples. Indeed, serum ferritin, magnesium, and ascorbate concentrations were higher in the ADHD group, but iron, zinc, and vitamin B6 were not different.

Our brief survey of biochemical and nutritional parameters did not give us any insight into the etiology of lower omega-3 fatty acids, but considering the consistency of the observation in multiple ADHD populations continued research in this field is encouraged.