Is fatty acid intake a predictor of arterial stiffness and blood pressure in men? Evidence from the Caerphilly Prospective Study * K.M. Livingstone a, *, D.I. Givens a , J.R. Cockcroft b , J.E. Pickering c , J.A. Lovegrove d a Food Production and Quality Research Division, Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom b Wales Heart Research Institute, Cardiff University, United Kingdom c Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Cardiff University, United Kingdom d Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences and Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Reading University, United Kingdom Received 2 October 2012; received in revised form 5 December 2012; accepted 7 December 2012 Available online 13 February 2013 KEYWORDS Fatty acids; Pulse wave velocity; Arterial stiffness; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular disease Abstract Background and aims: Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovas- cular disease (CVD) events and all-cause mortality and may be differentially affected by die- tary fatty acid (FA) intake. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between FA consumption and arterial stiffness and blood pressure in a community-based population. Methods and results: The Caerphilly Prospective Study recruited 2398 men, aged 45e59 years, who were followed up at 5-year intervals for a mean of 17.8-years (n 787). A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire estimated intakes of total, saturated, mono- and poly- unsaturated fatty acids (SFA, MUFA, PUFA). Multiple regression models investigated associa- tions between intakes of FA at baseline with aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), augmentation index (AIx), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and pulse pressure after a 17.8- year follow-up e as well as cross-sectional relationships with metabolic markers. After adjust- ment, higher SFA consumption at baseline was associated with higher SBP (P Z 0.043) and DBP Abbreviations: SFA, saturated fatty acids; MUFA, mono-unsaturated fatty acids; PUFA, poly-unsaturated fatty acids; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; aPWV, aortic pulse wave velocity; AIx, augmentation index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure. * The Caerphilly Prospective Study was undertaken by the former MRC Epidemiology Unit (South Wales) and was funded by the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. The pulse wave velocity measures at phase 5 were collected with funding from the British Heart Foundation. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 (0)118 378 5469; fax: þ44 (0)118 378 6595. E-mail addresses: k.m.livingstone@pgr.reading.ac.uk, ss011527@reading.ac.uk (K.M. Livingstone). 0939-4753/$ - see front matter ª 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2012.12.002 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nmcd Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2013) 23, 1079e1085