A total of 3103 community-dwelling Japanese individuals aged 鈮?0 years were followed up for an average of 5.1 years. Serum EPA/AA ratios were categorized into quartiles. The risk estimates were computed using a Cox proportional hazards model.
During the follow-up period, 127 subjects experienced cardiovascular events. Age- and sex-adjusted incidence rates of cardiovascular disease increased with lower serum EPA/AA ratios in individuals with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HS-CRP) of 鈮?.0聽mg/L (p for trend聽=聽0.006), whereas no clear association was observed in those with HS-CRP of <1.0聽mg/L (p for trend聽=聽0.27). The multivariable-adjusted risk of cardiovascular disease increased significantly, by 1.52 times (95% confidence interval 1.12-2.04) per 0.20 decrement in serum EPA/AA ratio in subjects with HS-CRP of 鈮?.0聽mg/L. A lower serum EPA/AA ratio was significantly associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, but there was no evidence of an association with stroke. The magnitude of the influence of the serum EPA/AA ratio on the cardiovascular risk increased significantly with elevating HS-CRP levels taken as a continuous variable (p for heterogeneity聽=聽0.007). However, no such association was observed for DHA/AA ratio.
Our findings suggest that a lower serum EPA/AA ratio is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary heart disease, among subjects with higher HS-CRP levels in the general Japanese population.