Dietary Fat Quality and Pre‑diabetes: A Case‑control Study

The relationship between dietary fat quality (DFQ) indices and pre‑diabetes has not been well studied. This study aimed to determine the association of DFQ indices and fatty acid intake with pre‑diabetes.

This case‑control study included 150 subjects with normal fasting blood glucose (FBG) and 147 pre‑diabetic subjects. Dietary intake was assessed by a validated food‑frequency questionnaire. DFQ indices including atherogenicity (AI) and thrombogenicity (TI), the ratios of hypo‑ and hypercholesterolemic (h:H), polyunsaturated:saturated (P:S) and n‑3:n‑6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were calculated. FBG test and 2‑hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were measured.

After adjustment for some confounding variables, a positive association was found between intake of total saturated fatty acids (SFA), myristic acid, palmitic acid, and pre‑diabetes, and a negative association was observed among n‑3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acids intake and pre‑diabetes. AI was found to be positively associated with pre‑diabetes (OR 6.68, 95% CI 2.57‑17.34). An inverse relationship was observed between n‑3:n‑6 (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14‑0.93) and h:H (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.07‑0.52) ratios with pre‑diabetes.

Higher intake of dietary n‑3 fatty acids was adversely, whereas SFA intake was positively related to pre‑diabetes morbidity. DFQ indices may be a useful measure to investigate fat intakes and blood glucose disturbances.