Associations of Alcohol Consumption with the Fatty Acid Spectrum of Blood in Novosibirsk Men (ESSE-RF3 in the Novosibirsk Region)

Aim. To evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption (taking into account the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed) and the content of unsaturated fatty acids in the blood of men in Novosibirsk. Design. Single-center observational single-stage study. Materials and methods. The work was performed as part of a single-stage epidemiological study “Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors in the districts of the Novosibirsk region” (ESSE-RF3) in 2020–2022. The study included 600 men with an average age of 56.4 ± 11.5 years. All participants had blood taken from the ulnar vein on an empty stomach after 12 hours of fasting for biochemical studies. The following fats were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography in blood plasma: alpha-linolenic acid (From 18:3, omega-3), eicosapentaenoic acid (From 20:5, omega-3), docosahexaenoic acid (From 22:6, omega-3), linoleic acid (From 18:2, omega-6), gamma-linolenic acid (From 18:3, omega-6), digomo-gamma-linolenic acid (From 20:3, omega-6), arachidonic acid (From 20:4, omega-6), docosatetraenoic acid (From 22:4, omega-6), docosapentaenoic acid (From 22:5, omega-6), hexadecene (From 16:1, omega-9), oleic acid (From 18:1, omega-9), mead (From 20:3, omega-9), selacholic acid (From 24:1, omega-9). The alcohol consumption status of all the subjects was analyzed. According to the level of alcohol consumption per week, the study participants were divided into three groups: group 1 (low alcohol consumption) < 8 doses; group 2 (moderate alcohol consumption) ≥ 8 doses < 16; group 3 (high alcohol consumption) ≥ 16 doses. Results. It was found that in the group of men with moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages, the level of docosatetraenoic acid is higher than in the group of men with low alcohol consumption. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant independent association (B = 0.063; p = 0.009) between alcohol intake and blood levels of docosatetraenoic acid. Conclusion. A significant direct independent association was obtained between the consumed dose of alcohol and the level of docosatetraenoic acid in the blood. The results confirm the known data on direct associations of docosatetraenoic acid with the risk of cardiovascular diseases and their complications. Keywords: fatty acids, docosatetraenoic acid, alcohol