Relationship between plasma trans-fatty acid isomer concentrations and self-reported cardiovascular disease risk in US adults

The effect of different individual TFA isomers on cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been a limited study, especially for stroke. We aimed to investigate the relationships between four major plasma TFA isomer (elaidic, vaccenic, palmitelaidic and linolelaidic acid) concentrations and the risk of CVD, stroke and non-stroke CVD. A cross-sectional study was conducted, utilising a nationally representative sample of US adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among the 3504 participants, 304 participants self-reported CVD history. The highest quintile of elaidic acid intake was associated with a 233% higher CVD risk (p = .010). Adjusted for age, gender and race, palmitelaidic acid was associated with a decreased CVD risk, but the effect size was diminished in a subsequent analysis model. For stroke risk, we failed to identify any associations. In addition to elaidic acid, the health effect of palmitelaidic acid should be paid more attention in the future studies.