Odds ratios for developing ulcerative colitis by quartile of intake of specific polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
| Macro-nutrient | Quartile of increasing intake | Quartile range | Unadjusted ORs (plus 95% CIs) for quartiles of intake* | Adjusted ORs (plus 95% CIs) for quartiles of intake† | Adjusted ORs (plus 95% CIs) for quartiles of intake‡ | |
| Women | Men | |||||
| Linoleic acid (n-6 PUFA) (g/day) | 1 (27, 131)§ | 1.9–6.1 | 3.1–7.8 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 (31, 126) | 6.2–8.8 | 7.9–11.3 | 1.21 (0.68 to 2.17) | 1.38 (0.74 to 2.56) | 1.46 (0.72 to 2.93) | |
| 3 (26, 132) | 8.9–12.5 | 11.4–14.8 | 1.00 (0.54 to 1.85) | 1.20 (0.61 to 2.38) | 1.24 (0.57 to 2.72) | |
| 4 (41, 115) | 12.6–37.5 | 14.9–35.4 | 1.85 (1.03 to 3.32) | 2.49 (1.23 to 5.07) | 2.31 (0.99 to 5.36) | |
| Trend OR = 1.19 (0.99 to 1.45, p = 0.07) | Trend OR = 1.32 (1.04 to 1.66, p = 0.02) | Trend OR = 1.28 (0.97 to 1.68, p = 0.08) | ||||
| α-Linolenic acid (n-3 PUFA) (g/day) | 1 (33, 125) | 0.4–0.9 | 0.5–1.0 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 (24, 133) | 1.0–1.2 | 1.1–1.5 | 0.68 (0.38 to 1.23) | 0.78 (0.41 to 1.47) | 0.73 (0.34 to 1.58) | |
| 3 (33, 125) | 1.3–1.6 | 1.6–2.0 | 1.00 (0.57 to 1.75) | 1.22 (0.63 to 2.39) | 1.20 (0.50 to 2.91) | |
| 4 (35, 121) | 1.7–3.7 | 2.1–5.0 | 1.11 (0.62 to 1.99) | 1.46 (0.67 to 3.14) | 1.28 (0.46 to 3.58) | |
| Trend OR = 1.07 (0.89 to 1.30, p = 0.47) | Trend OR = 1.17 (0.91 to 1.51, p = 0.21) | Trend OR = 1.15 (0.83 to 1.61, p = 0.40) | ||||
| Oleic acid (n-9 MUFA) (g/day) | 1 (31, 127) | 5.0–15.5 | 7.4–19.6 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 (28, 129) | 15.6–20.7 | 19.7–26.2 | 0.88 (0.50 to 1.57) | 0.97 (0.52 to 1.81) | 0.90 (0.42 to 1.93) | |
| 3 (35, 123) | 20.8–28.2 | 26.3–33.4 | 1.16 (0.6 to 2.03) | 1.30 (0.63 to 2.66) | 0.85 (0.35 to 2.08) | |
| 4 (31, 125) | 28.3–69.8 | 33.5–78.4 | 1.02 (0.55 to 1.89) | 1.21 (0.48 to 3.01) | 0.78 (0.26 to 2.40) | |
| Trend OR = 1.04 (0.85 to 1.26, p = 0.72) | Trend OR = 1.10 (0.81 to 1.47, p = 0.55) | Trend OR = 0.92 (0.64 to 1.33, p = 0.67) | ||||
| Docosahexaenoic acid (n-3 PUFA) (g/day) | 1 (34, 114) | 0.0 0–0.10 | 0.00–0.11 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 (30, 117) | 0.11–0.18 | 0.12–0.21 | 0.79 (0.43 to 1.44) | 0.76 (0.41 to 1.41) | 0.54 (0.25 to 1.19) | |
| 3 (24, 123) | 0.19–0.32 | 0.22–0.40 | 0.57 (0.29 to 1.10) | 0.53 (0.27 to 1.05) | 0.27 (0.09 to 0.79) | |
| 4 (29, 118 | 0.33–1.35 | 0.41–2.00 | 0.70 (0.3 to 1.37) | 0.64 (0.32 to 1.30) | 0.23 (0.06 to 0.97) | |
| Trend OR = 0.87 (0.70 to 1.09, p = 0.23) | Trend OR = 0.85 (0.68 to 1.07, p = 0.17) | Trend OR = 0.59 (0.37 to 0.94, p = 0.03) | ||||
| Eicosapentaenoic acid (n-3 PUFA) (g/day) | 1 (30, 118) | 0.0 1–0.04 | 0.00–0.05 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 (30, 117) | 0.05–0.09 | 0.06–0.11 | 1.00 (0.54 to 1.86) | 1.02 (0.54 to 1.90) | 1.49 (0.68 to 3.29) | |
| 3 (27, 120) | 0.10–0.16 | 0.12–0.18 | 0.87 (0.46 to 1.67) | 0.86 (0.44 to 1.66) | 2.01 (0.70 to 5.79) | |
| 4 (30, 117) | 0.17–0.73 | 0.19–1.05 | 1.00 (0.52 to 1.91) | 0.96 (0.49 to 1.88) | 2.58 (0.66 to 10.05) | |
| Trend OR = 0.99 (0.80 to 1.21, p = 0.90). | Trend OR = 0.97 (0.78 to 1.20, p = 0.78). | Trend OR = 1.37 (0.88 to 2.15, p = 0.16). | ||||
*Odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for age at recruitment into the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), gender and centre.
†Odds ratios adjusted for age at recruitment into EPIC, gender, centre, cigarette smoking and total energy intake.
‡Odds ratios adjusted for age at recruitment into EPIC, gender, centre, cigarette smoking, total energy intake and the other listed fatty acids.
§Results in parentheses are number of cases and number of controls.
CI, confidence interval; MUFA, mono-unsaturated fatty acid.