Fatty acid profiles among the Inuit of Nunavik: Current status and temporal change

Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids

Volumn 90, Issue 5, 2014, Pages 159-167

  Proust, Françoise ^a   Lucas, Michel ^a,b   Dewailly, Éric ^a,b  

^a University Laval   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL   (Canada)

Author keywords

Fish; Inuit; Marine mammals; Nutritional transition; Omega 3 fatty acids; Polyunsaturated fatty acids

Indexed keywords

ARACHIDONIC ACID; DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID; DOCOSAPENTAENOIC ACID; ICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID; LINOLENIC ACID; OMEGA 3 FATTY ACID; OMEGA 6 FATTY ACID; PHOSPHOLIPID; SATURATED FATTY ACID; TRANS FATTY ACID;

ADULT; AGE DISTRIBUTION; AGED; ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION; ARTICLE; CANADA; COMPARATIVE STUDY; CONTROLLED STUDY; CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY; ERYTHROCYTE LEVEL; ESKIMO; FATTY ACID ANALYSIS; FATTY ACID BLOOD LEVEL; FEMALE; FOOD; FOOD COMPOSITION; FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE; FOOD INTAKE; HUMAN; HUMAN CELL; MALE; MARINE FOOD; MIDDLE AGED; NUTRITION; NUTRITIONAL TRANSITION; OBESITY; PHOSPHOLIPID BLOOD LEVEL; POPULATION RESEARCH; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SEX DIFFERENCE; TREND STUDY; YOUNG ADULT; ADOLESCENT; BLOOD; CLINICAL TRIAL; ERYTHROCYTE; INUIT; METABOLISM;

MAMMALIA;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGED; ERYTHROCYTES; FATTY ACIDS, OMEGA-3; FATTY ACIDS, OMEGA-6; FEMALE; HUMANS; INUITS; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; PHOSPHOLIPIDS; QUEBEC;

EID: 84897574113     PISSN: 09523278     EISSN: 15322823     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2014.02.001     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. NCP (Northern Contaminants Program) Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report. II: Human Health. Ministry of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, Canada, 2003. Available at (accessed 01.08.12). http://caid.ca/CanArtCon2.2003.pdf.
2. Kuhnlein H.V., Receveur O., Chan H.M. Traditional food systems research with Canadian indigenous peoples. Int. J. Circump. Health 2001, 60:112-122.
3. Dyerberg J., Bang H.O., Stoffersen E., Moncada S., Vane J.R. Eicosapentaenoic acid and prevention of thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Lancet 1978, 2:117-119.
4. Dyerberg J., Bang H.O. Lipid metabolism, atherogenesis, and haemostasis in Eskimos: the role of the prostaglandin-3 family. Haemostasis 1979, 8:227-233.
5. Mizushima S., Moriguchi E.H., Ishikawa P., et al. Fish intake and cardiovascular risk among middle-aged Japanese in Japan and Brazil. J. Cardiovasc. Risk 1997, 4:191-199.
6. Dewailly É., Blanchet C., Lemieux S., Sauvé L., Gingras S., Ayotte P., Holub B.J. n-3 Fatty acids and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the Inuit of Nunavik. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2001, 74:464-473.
7. Mozaffarian D., Bryson C.L., Lemaitre C.L., Burke G.L., Siscovick D.S. Fish intake and risk of incident heart failure. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2005, 45:2015-2021.
8. Streppel M.T., Ocké M.C., Boshuizen H.C., Kok F.J., Kromhout D. Long-term fish consumption and n-3 fatty acid intake in relation to (sudden) coronary heart disease death: the Zutphen study. Eur. Heart J. 2008, 29:2024-2030.
9. de Goede J., Geleijnse J.M., Boer J.M.A., Kromhout D., Verschuren W.M.M. Marine (n-3) fatty acids, fish consumption, and the 10-year risk of fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease in a large population of Dutch adults with low fish intake. J. Nutr. 2010, 140:1023-1028.
10. Larsson S.C., Virtamo J., Wolk A. Fish consumption and risk of stroke in Swedish women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2011, 93:487-493.
11. NRBHSS Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services. Updated 2011. Available at (accessed December 2011). http://www.rrsss17.gouv.qc.ca/.
12. Kuhnlein H.V., Receveur O., Soueida R., Egeland G.M. Arctic indigenous peoples experience the nutrition transition with changing dietary patterns and obesity. J. Nutr. 2004, 124:1447-1453.
13. Québec Santé A health profile of the Inuit: Report of the Santé Québec Health Survey among the Inuit of Nunavik, 1992. Part III: Diet, A Health Determining Factor 1995, Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux, Gouvernement du Québec, Montréal.
14. Bjerregaard P., Young T.K., Dewailly É., Ebbesson O.E. Indigenous health in the Arctic: an overview of the circumpolaar Inuit population. Scand. J. Public Health 2004, 32:390-395.
15. Popkin B.M. Global nutrition dynamics: the world is shifting rapidly toward a diet linked with noncommunicable diseases. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2006, 84:289-298.
16. Ebbesson S.O., Schraer C., Nobmann E.D., Ebbesson L.O. Lipoprotein profiles in Alaskan Siberian Yupik Eskimos. Arctic Med. Res. 1996, 55:165-173.
17. Kuhnlein H.V., Receveur O. Dietary change and traditional food systems of indigenous peoples. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 1996, 16:417-442.
18. Nakano T., Fediuk K., Kassi N., Egeland G.M., Kuhnlein H.V. Dietary nutrients and anthropometry of Dene/Métis and Yukon children. Int. J. Circump. Health 2005, 64:147-156.
19. Statistics Canada, Région du Nunavik, Québec (Code 2417) Profil de la population autochtone, Recensement de 2006, produit n° 92-594-XWF au catalogue de Statistique Canada, Ottawa, 2007. Available at (accessed December 2011). http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006.
20. L. Rochette, C. Blanchet, Methodological Report. Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004. Qanuippitaa? How are we? Quebec (Canada): Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) & Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS), 2007.
21. WHO (World Health Organization), BMI Classification, 2004. Available at (accessed December 2011). http://apps.who.int/bmi/.
22. NIH (National Institutes of Health) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report, Obes Res 6 (1998) (Suppl 2) 51S-209S.
23. C. Blanchet, L. Rochette, Nutrition and food consumption among the Inuit of Nunavik. Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004, Qanuippitaa? How are we? Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS), Québec, 2008.
24. Gibson R. Principles of Nutritional Assessment 2005, Oxford University Press, New York. 2nd ed.
25. Willett W. Food frequency methods. Nutritional Epidemiology. Monographs in Epidemiology and Biostatistics 2008, 74-100. Oxford University Press, New York. 2nd ed. W. Willett (Ed.).
26. Sun Q., Ma J., Campos H., Hankinson S.E., Hu F.B. Comparison between plasma and erythrocyte fatty acid content as biomarkers of fatty acid intake in US women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2007, 86:74-81.
27. Shaikh N.A., Downar E. Time course of changes in porcine myocardial phospholipid levels during ischemia. A reassessment of the lysolipid hypothesis. Circ. Res. 1981, 49:316-325.
28. Lepage G., Roy C.C. Direct transesterification of all classes of lipids in a one-step reaction. J. Lipid Res. 1986, 27:114-120.
29. Pars T., Osler M., Bjerregaard P. Contemporary use of traditional food among Greenlandic Inuit. Arctic 2001, 54:22-31.
30. Deutch B., Dyerberg J., Pedersen H.S., Aschlund E., Hansen J.C. Traditional and modern Greenlandic food - dietary composition, nutrients and contaminants. Sci. Total Environ. 2007, 384:106-119.
31. Kuhnlein H.V. Benefits and risks of traditional food for Indigenous Peoples: focus on dietary intakes of Arctic men. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 1995, 73:765-771.
32. Kuhnlein H.V., Soueida R., Receveur O. Inuit food use by age, gender and season. J. Can. Diet. Assoc. 1995, 56:175-183.
33. Blanchet C., Dewailly É., Ayotte P., Bruneau S., Receveur O., Holub H.J. Contribution of selected traditional and market foods to the diet of Nunavik Inuit women. Can. J. Diet. Pract. Res. 2000, 61:50-59.
34. Nobmann E.D., Ponce R., Mattil C., et al. Dietary intakes vary with age among Eskimo adults of Northwest Alaska in the GOCADAN study, 2000-2003. J. Nutr. 2005, 135:856-862.
35. Hamada A., Mori M., Mori H., et al. Deterioration of traditional dietary custom increases the risk of lifestyle-related diseases in young male Africans. J. Biomed. Sci. 2010, 17(Suppl 1):S34.
36. Receveur O., Boulay M., Kuhnlein H.V. Decreasing traditional food use affects diet quality for adult Dene/Métis in 16 communities of the Canadian Northwest Territories. J. Nutr. 1997, 127:2179-2186.
37. Iso H., Sato S., Folsom A.R., et al. Serum fatty acids and fish intake in rural Japanese, urban Japanese, Japanese American and Caucasian American men. Int. J. Epidemiol. 1989, 18:374-381.
38. Dewailly É., Chateau-Degat L., Suhas E. Fish consumption and health in French Polynesia. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008, 17:86-93.
39. Kris-Etherton P.M., Taylor D.S, Yu-Poth S., et al. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the food chain in the United States. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000, 71:179S-188S.
40. Dewailly É., Blanchet C., Gingras S., Lemieux S., Sauvé L., Bergeron J., Holub B.J. Relations between n-3 fatty acid status and cardiovascular disease risk factors among Quebecers. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2001, 74:603-611.
41. Kuhnlein H.V., Soueida R., Receveur O. Dietary nutrient profiles of Canadian Baffin Island Inuit differ by food source, season and age. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1996, 96:155-162.
42. Thorseng T., Witte D.R., Vistisen D., Borch-Johnsen K., Bjerregaard P., Jørgensen M.E. The association between n-3 fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes and insulin resistance: the Inuit Health in Transition Study. Int. J. Circump. Health 2009, 68:327-336.
43. Howe P., Meyer B., Record S., Baghurst K. Dietary intake of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: contribution of meat sources. Nutrition 2006, 22:47-53.
44. Conquer J.A., Holub B.J. Dietary docosahexaenoic acid as a source of eicosapentaenoic acid in vegetarians and omnivores. Lipids 1997, 32:341-345.
45. Stark K.D., Holub B.J. Differential eicosapentaenoic acid elevations and altered cardiovascular disease risk factor responses after supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid in postmenopausal women receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004, 79:765-773.
46. Hino A., Adachi H., Toyomasu K., et al. Very long chain N-3 fatty acids intake and carotid atherosclerosis: an epidemiological study evaluated by ultrasonography. Atherosclerosis 2004, 176:145-149.
47. Akiba S., Murata T., Kitatani K., Sato T. Involvement of lipoxygenase pathway in docosapentaenoic acid-induced inhibition of platelet aggregation. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 2000, 23:1293-1297.
48. Sands S.A., Reid K.J., Windsor S.L., Harris W.S. The impact of age, body mass index, and fish intake on the EPA and DHA content of human erythrocytes. Lipids 2005, 40:343-347.
49. Mozaffarian D., Katan M.B., Ascherio A., Stampfer M.J., Willett W.C. Medical progress - trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 2006, 354:1601-1613.
50. Mozaffarian D., Willett W.C. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular risk: a unique cardiometabolic imprint?. Curr. Atheroscler. Rep. 2007, 9:486-493.
51. Lucas M., Proust F., Blanchet C., et al. Is marine mammal fat or fish intake most strongly associated with omega-3 blood levels among the Nunavik Inuit?. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids 2010, 83:143-150.
52. Deutch B., Pedersen H.S., Hansen J.C. Dietary composition in Greenland 2000, plasma fatty acids and persistent organic pollutants. Sci. Total Environ. 2004, 331:177-188.
53. T. Doniol-Valcroze, M.O. Hammill, V. Lesage, Information on abundance and harvest of eastern Hudson Bay beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), DFO Can Sci Advis Sec (2011) Res Doc 2010/121.
54. Pawlosky R., Hibbeln J., Lin Y., Salem N. n-3 Fatty acid metabolism in women. Br. J. Nutr. 2003, 90:993-995.
55. Burdge G.C., Calder P.C. α-Linolenic acid metabolism in adult humans: the effects of gender and age on conversion to longer-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Tech. 2005, 107:426-439.
56. Burdge G.C., Wootton S.A. Conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in young women. Br. J. Nutr. 2002, 88:411-420.
57. Giltay E.J, Gooren L.J., Toorians A.W., Katan M.B., Zock P.L. Docosahexaenoic acid profiles are higher in women than in men because of estrogenic effects. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004, 80:1167-1174.
58. Plourde M., Cunnane S. Extremely limited synthesis of long chain polyunsaturates in adults: implications for their dietary essentiality and use as supplements. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 2007, 32:619-634.