Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background & Aim: Diabetes is a heterogenous disease which results from complex reactions among heredity, nutrition and lifestyle. Some studies have shown that a high intake of saturated fatty acids(SFA) increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, while polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA) decrease diabetes incidence by increasing insulin affinity to the receptors. In this study, serum fatty acids and adipose tissue composition as a long-term biomarker for fatty acids intake are determined, and their correlation with type 2 diabetes is investigated. Patients & Method: This was a cross-sectional study in which the healthy and the patient groups were compared. The fatty acid composition of fasting serum and adipose tissue was studied in 98 patients with type 2 diabetes and 76 healthy control subjects using gas-liquid chromatography. The serum lipids were measured by autoanalyzer. The means of variables were compared by using Students’ t-test. Results: The percentages of palmitic acid and positional isomer of oleic acid(11c-18:1) in adipose tissue of the patients were higher than the control group(P=0.01, P=0.02 respectively). The percentages of palmitic acid, total saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in the serum of the patients were higher than the control group too(P=0.001, P=0.006, P=0.02 respectively). Linoleic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids were lower than the control group, however(P=0.02, P=0.02 respectively). Mean concentration of triglyceride in the patients was higher than the control group(t=-6.7, P=0.001). There was a negative correlation between serum PUFAs and cholesterol to HDL ratio in serum and a positive correlation between serum PUFAs and TG in serum. Also, PUFAs in serum had a negative correlation with TG in serum. Conclusion: Large amounts of palmitic acid and 11c-18:1 in adipose tissue may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and it seems that patients with type 2 diabetes can have proper control over lipid parameters by having a higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids than saturated fatty acids.