Plasma [omega]-3 fatty acid levels negatively and [omega]-6 fatty acid levels positively associated with other cardiovascular risk factors including homocysteine in severe obese subjects

Obesity and homocysteine (tHcy) are important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Plasma omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) and omega-6 fatty acids (ω-6 FAs) are essential fatty acids with diverse biological effects in human health and disease. We have investigated the relation of plasma ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs levels with other cardiovascular risk factors including tHcy in severe obese subjects. This study was performed on 96 severe obese and 65 normal weight subjects. Plasma fatty acid composition was measured by GC/MS and serum tHcy level was measured by HPLC methods. There were no differences between groups in terms of concentrations of serum tHcy, plasma ω-3 FAs, ω-6 FAs and ω-3/ω-6 ratio, whereas serum vitamin B-12 (p