(02-06-12) Three-way assessment of long-chain n-3 PUFA nutrition: by questionnaire and matched blood and skin samples.

Wallingford SC, Pilkington SM, Massey KA, Al-Aasswad NM, Ibiebele TI, Celia
Hughes M, Bennett S, Nicolaou A, Rhodes LE, Green AC.
Source
Dermatological Sciences, Inflammation Sciences Research Group, Photobiology
Unit, School of Translational Medicine, Manchester Academic Health Sciences
Centre, Salford Royal Foundation Hospital, University of Manchester, Manchester
M6 8HD, UK.
Abstract
The long-chain n-3 PUFA, EPA, is believed to be important for skin health,
including roles in the modulation of inflammation and protection from
photodamage. FFQ and blood levels are used as non-invasive proxies for
assessing skin PUFA levels, but studies examining how well these proxies
reflect target organ content are lacking. In seventy-eight healthy women (mean
age 42?8, range 21-60 years) residing in Greater Manchester, we performed a
quantitative analysis of long-chain n-3 PUFA nutrition estimated from a self-
reported FFQ (n 75) and correlated this with n-3 PUFA concentrations in
erythrocytes (n 72) and dermis (n 39). Linear associations between the three n-
3 PUFA measurements were assessed by Spearman correlation coefficients and
agreement between these measurements was estimated. Average total dietary
content of the principal long-chain n-3 PUFA EPA and DHA was 171 (sd 168) and
236 (sd 248) mg/d, respectively. EPA showed significant correlations between
FFQ assessments and both erythrocyte (r 0?57, P < 0?0001) and dermal (r 0?33, P
= 0?05) levels, as well as between erythrocytes and dermis (r 0?45, P = 0?008).
FFQ intake of DHA and the sum of n-3 PUFA also correlated well with erythrocyte
concentrations (r 0?50, P < 0?0001; r 0?27, P = 0?03). Agreement between ranked
thirds of dietary intake, blood and dermis approached 50 % for EPA and DHA,
though gross misclassification was lower for EPA. Thus, FFQ estimates and
circulating levels of the dietary long-chain n-3 PUFA, EPA, may be utilised as
well-correlated measures of its dermal bioavailability.

Source: Br J Nutr. 2012 May 23:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]

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