Dietary habits and plasma lipid concentrations in a general Japanese population.

INTRODUCTION: Accumulating data on the associations between food consumption and lipid composition in the body is essential for understanding the effects of dietary habits on health.

OBJECTIVES: As part of omics research in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Cohort Study, this study sought to reveal the dietary impact on plasma lipid concentration in a Japanese population.

METHODS: We conducted a correlation analysis of food consumption and plasma lipid concentrations measured using mass spectrometry, for 4032 participants in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

RESULTS: Our analysis revealed 83 marked correlations between six food categories and the concentrations of plasma lipids in nine subclasses. Previously reported associations, including those between seafood consumption and omega-3 fatty acids, were validated, while those between dairy product consumption and odd-carbon-number fatty acids (odd-FAs) were validated for the first time in an Asian population. Further analysis suggested that dairy product consumption is associated with odd-FAs via sphingomyelin (SM), which suggests that SM is a carrier of odd-FAs. These results are important for understanding odd-FA metabolism with regards to dairy product consumption.

CONCLUSION: This study provides insight into the dietary impact on plasma lipid concentration in a Japanese population.