4147eb25903fd63133c8014fe6f0dc07 nutrients-17-02888-v2.pdf 05510f7245515f5a6912c3d0b69ef6aac7a661b3 nutrients-17-02888-v2.pdf d8683be13bdb786790065a4393df4f863d7a9db8540ffb9771e2e4a2ce1b034a nutrients-17-02888-v2.pdf Title: The Association Between the Mediterranean Diet and Fatty Acids in Red Blood Cells of Spanish Adolescents Subject: Objective: The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is characterized by its emphasis on plant-based foods, olive oil, and fish products, and has been associated with providing relevant fatty acids (FAs) for adolescent physiology. This study aims to investigate the relationship between adherence to the MedDiet and the FA composition of red blood cell (RBC) membranes in an adolescent population. Methods: The current research examines the relationship between MedDiet adherence, assessed using the KIDMED questionnaire, and the composition of RBC membranes, specifically measuring 22 FAs in a cross-sectional analysis of adolescents from two cohorts (mean age = 14.55). Baseline data from 552 participants with complete dietary adherence and FA information were analyzed using multivariable regression models and principal component analysis (PCA) as confirmatory analysis. All regression models were adjusted by age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, maternal education and cohort enrollment. Results: Main results shown that “Good adherence” to the MedDiet was positively associated with omega-3 FAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid ( = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.52; p-value < 0.001) and docosahexaenoic acid ( = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.46; p-value = 0.001), and inversely associated with specific omega-6 FAs, such as arachidonic acid ( = -0.28; 95% CI: -0.46, -0.11; p-value = 0.002) and adrenic acid ( = -0.19; 95% CI: -0.30, -0.08; p-value < 0.001). PCA identified distinct FA patterns, with “Good adherence” to the MedDiet being associated with an increase in the omega-3 FAs pattern ( = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.49; p-value < 0.001). These findings remained robust after multiple test comparisons. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential of the MedDiet to promote optimal RBC FA composition in healthy adolescents, characterized by high levels of omega-3 FAs and reduced levels of arachidonic acid and adrenic acid in RBC membranes. Keywords: Mediterranean diet; fatty acids; polyunsaturated fatty acids; adolescence; principal component analysis Author: Nicolas Ayala-Aldana, David Lafuente, Iolanda Lázaro, Ariadna Pinar-Martí, Alexios Manidis, Sara Bernardo-Castro, Silvia Fernandez-Barres, Darren R. Healy, Martine Vrijheid, Oren Contreras-Rodríguez, Aleix Sala-Vila and Jordi Julvez Creator: LaTeX with hyperref Producer: pdfTeX-1.40.25; modified using OpenPDF 1.4.2 CreationDate: Tue Sep 9 11:44:51 2025 CEST ModDate: Tue Sep 9 11:57:36 2025 CEST Custom Metadata: yes Metadata Stream: no Tagged: no UserProperties: no Suspects: no Form: none JavaScript: no Pages: 16 Encrypted: no Page size: 595.276 x 841.89 pts (A4) Page rot: 0 File size: 452697 bytes Optimized: no PDF version: 1.5 name type encoding emb sub uni object ID ------------------------------------ ----------------- ---------------- --- --- --- --------- NIIHCW+EURM10 Type 1 Builtin yes yes yes 86 0 CMRCPV+URWPalladioL-Bold Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 87 0 SJOWXO+URWPalladioL-Roma Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 88 0 QNALHW+VnURWPalladioL Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 89 0 QMDDXF+CMSY10 Type 1 Builtin yes yes yes 90 0 LJSJNP+URWPalladioL-Ital Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 91 0 WBVKDJ+URWPalladioL-BoldItal Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 193 0 OALBHP+PalatinoLinotype-Italic CID TrueType Identity-H yes yes yes 209 0 OALBGN+PalatinoLinotype-Bold CID TrueType Identity-H yes yes yes 210 0 OALBGO+PalatinoLinotype-Roman CID TrueType Identity-H yes yes yes 211 0 MAPQWP+VnURWPalladioL-Italic Type 1 Custom yes yes yes 340 0 Jhove (Rel. 1.28.0, 2023-05-18) Date: 2025-09-26 03:07:59 CEST RepresentationInformation: nutrients-17-02888-v2.pdf ReportingModule: PDF-hul, Rel. 1.12.4 (2023-03-16) LastModified: 2025-09-25 13:27:45 CEST Size: 452697 Format: PDF Version: 1.5 Status: Well-Formed and valid SignatureMatches: PDF-hul MIMEtype: application/pdf PDFMetadata: Objects: 414 FreeObjects: 1 IncrementalUpdates: 0 DocumentCatalog: ViewerPreferences: HideToolbar: false HideMenubar: false HideWindowUI: false FitWindow: true CenterWindow: false DisplayDocTitle: false NonFullScreenPageMode: UseNone Direction: L2R ViewArea: CropBox ViewClip: CropBox PrintArea: CropBox PageClip: CropBox PageLayout: SinglePage PageMode: UseNone Outlines: Item: Title: Introduction Item: Title: Methods Children: Item: Title: Nutritional, Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Data Item: Title: Laboratory Protocol for Fatty Acids Analysis Item: Title: Principal Component Analysis Item: Title: Statistical Analysis Item: Title: Results Item: Title: Discussion Item: Title: Conclusions Item: Title: References Info: Title: The Association Between the Mediterranean Diet and Fatty Acids in Red Blood Cells of Spanish Adolescents Author: Nicolas Ayala-Aldana, David Lafuente, Iolanda Lázaro, Ariadna Pinar-Martí, Alexios Manidis, Sara Bernardo-Castro, Silvia Fernandez-Barres, Darren R. Healy, Martine Vrijheid, Oren Contreras-Rodríguez, Aleix Sala-Vila and Jordi Julvez Subject: Objective: The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is characterized by its emphasis on plant-based foods, olive oil, and fish products, and has been associated with providing relevant fatty acids (FAs) for adolescent physiology. This study aims to investigate the relationship between adherence to the MedDiet and the FA composition of red blood cell (RBC) membranes in an adolescent population. Methods: The current research examines the relationship between MedDiet adherence, assessed using the KIDMED questionnaire, and the composition of RBC membranes, specifically measuring 22 FAs in a cross-sectional analysis of adolescents from two cohorts (mean age = 14.55). Baseline data from 552 participants with complete dietary adherence and FA information were analyzed using multivariable regression models and principal component analysis (PCA) as confirmatory analysis. All regression models were adjusted by age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, maternal education and cohort enrollment. Results: Main results shown that “Good adherence” to the MedDiet was positively associated with omega-3 FAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid ( = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.52; p-value < 0.001) and docosahexaenoic acid ( = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.46; p-value = 0.001), and inversely associated with specific omega-6 FAs, such as arachidonic acid ( = -0.28; 95% CI: -0.46, -0.11; p-value = 0.002) and adrenic acid ( = -0.19; 95% CI: -0.30, -0.08; p-value < 0.001). PCA identified distinct FA patterns, with “Good adherence” to the MedDiet being associated with an increase in the omega-3 FAs pattern ( = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.49; p-value < 0.001). These findings remained robust after multiple test comparisons. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential of the MedDiet to promote optimal RBC FA composition in healthy adolescents, characterized by high levels of omega-3 FAs and reduced levels of arachidonic acid and adrenic acid in RBC membranes. 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