Serum Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Middle Childhood and Body Mass Index Change Through Adolescence

Abstract

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) status in childhood may be associated with adiposity development. Objective: To assess associations of serum PUFA biomarkers in childhood with change in body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z scores (BMIZ) through adolescence. Methods: We quantified serum PUFA at ages 5 and 10 years among 418 children from Santiago, Chile. BMI was measured at 5, 10, and 16 years. We compared BMIZ change through age 16 years between quartiles of PUFA at 5 and 10 years and PUFA change 5–10 years by fitting growth curves from mixed effects models. Results: At age 5 years, serum docosahexaenoic acid was inversely associated with BMIZ change from ages 5 to 16 years. At age 10 years, arachidonic acid (AA) was nonlinearly positively related to BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in AA and the Δ5-desaturase (D5D) activity index between 5 and 10 years were each positively associated with BMIZ change from ages 10 to 16 years. Change in eicosapentaenoic acid was inversely associated with change in BMIZ. Conclusions: Serum long-chain n-3 PUFA in middle childhood were associated with less BMI gain through adolescence, whereas AA and D5D activity was related to greater BMI gain.