Relationship between plasma fatty acid composition and diet over previous years in the Italian centers of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Fatty acid levels in plasma phospholipids were related to food intake over the previous year as estimated by semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires compiled by 280 men and 246 women from the EPIC centers of Varese, Turin, Florence and Ragusa (Italy). Fatty acid content was determined by gas chromatography and analyzed in relation to age, sex and center. The most important finding was that plasma monounsaturated fatty acid levels, mainly oleic acid, were associated with olive oil consumption (r = 0.28 men, r = 0.19 women, both P