This study aims to examine the association of whole blood n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with insulin resistance (IR) in children. Whole blood fatty acids were measured in 705 children aged 2-9 years of the European IDEFICS/I.Family cohort using gas chromatography in units of weight percentage of all detected fatty acids (%wt/wt). IR was determined by the Homeostasis Model Assessment for IR (HOMA). Mixed effect models were used to assess the associations between selected baseline PUFA and HOMA z-scores at baseline and after 2- and 6-year follow-ups using models with basic and additional confounder adjustment as well as stratified by sex and weight status. In the basic model, α-linolenic (β = 1.46 SD/%wt/wt, p = 0.006) and eicosapentaenoic acid (β = 1.17 SD/%wt/wt, p = 0.001) were positively associated with baseline HOMA z-score. In the stratified analyses, α-linolenic acid was positively associated with HOMA z-score in girls only (β = 1.98 SD/%wt/wt, p = 0.006) and arachidonic acid was inversely associated with baseline HOMA in thin/normal-weight children (β = - 0.13 SD/%wt/wt, p = 0.0063). In the fully adjusted model, no statistically significant associations were seen.Conclusions: Our overall results do not indicate a protective role of higher blood n-3 PUFA or an adverse role of higher blood arachidonic acid proportion on the risk of IR. What is Known: •Intervention studies reported a beneficial effect of n-3 PUFA supplementation on insulin resistance compared with placebo while observational studies in cildren are inconclusive. •Studies have shown a positive association of n-6 arachidonic acid and insulin resistance indicating an adverse role of arachidonic acid. What is New: •Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses based on circulating blood fatty acid concentrations in a large cohort of European children and adolescents. •Overall results do not support a protective role of n-3 PUFA or an adverse role of arachidonic acid in insulin resistance.
Keywords: Children; HOMA; Insulin resistance; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; n-3 fatty acids; n-6 fatty acids.