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Monounsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease: intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure

Monounsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease: intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure
Monounsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease: intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure
Unhealthy dietary patterns are a major modifiable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). International guidelines recommend reducing saturated fatty acid intake while increasing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) to mitigate cardiovascular risk. However, evidence regarding MUFAs and risk of ASCVD remains conflicting, with recent studies raising concern about a potential higher risk associated with MUFA intake. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an overview of current knowledge and gaps in the literature regarding MUFAs and the risk of ASCVD with a focus on intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure. Main findings reveal that most studies have inappropriately combined all MUFAs together, despite individual MUFA types having different biological effects and showing varying correlations between dietary intake and adipose tissue content. Adipose tissue composition may serve as a biomarker of long-term MUFA exposure, reflecting cumulative intake over one to two years while minimizing biases inherent in dietary assessments. However, tissue levels reflect both dietary intake and endogenous synthesis, complicating interpretation. Importantly, the source of MUFAs appears critical, with plant-derived MUFAs potentially offering advantages over animal-derived sources. In conclusion, we suggest that future research should focus on individual MUFA types rather than treating them as a homogeneous group, investigate their specific dietary sources and associations with ASCVD risk, and use adipose tissue biomarkers to improve exposure assessment and clarify causal relationships while considering overall dietary patterns.
2072-6643
Pedersen, Jonas
8ac23d2b-2d42-427a-a501-020bf2676e20
Storgaard Hedegaard, Berit
25a561be-6aad-43c7-8e3b-aba8cd937db1
Berg Schmidt, Erik
431bb78c-1ea8-4a69-8aca-87caa532483b
Dahm, Christina C.
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Holven, Kirsten B.
e22a1967-2db9-4e26-988e-bf9144ecf3e0
Retterstol, Kjetil
80145c1b-5062-4af1-92fb-767e388b9b44
Calder, Philip C.
1797e54f-378e-4dcb-80a4-3e30018f07a6
Bork, Christian
e22d4da0-aef9-4764-bc04-071ee1a90810
Pedersen, Jonas
8ac23d2b-2d42-427a-a501-020bf2676e20
Storgaard Hedegaard, Berit
25a561be-6aad-43c7-8e3b-aba8cd937db1
Berg Schmidt, Erik
431bb78c-1ea8-4a69-8aca-87caa532483b
Dahm, Christina C.
7a420548-8e4a-46e5-9970-5baf6e55b5ad
Holven, Kirsten B.
e22a1967-2db9-4e26-988e-bf9144ecf3e0
Retterstol, Kjetil
80145c1b-5062-4af1-92fb-767e388b9b44
Calder, Philip C.
1797e54f-378e-4dcb-80a4-3e30018f07a6
Bork, Christian
e22d4da0-aef9-4764-bc04-071ee1a90810

Pedersen, Jonas, Storgaard Hedegaard, Berit, Berg Schmidt, Erik, Dahm, Christina C., Holven, Kirsten B., Retterstol, Kjetil, Calder, Philip C. and Bork, Christian (2025) Monounsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease: intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure. Nutrients, 17 (15), [2509]. (doi:10.3390/nu17152509).

Record type: Review

Abstract

Unhealthy dietary patterns are a major modifiable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). International guidelines recommend reducing saturated fatty acid intake while increasing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) to mitigate cardiovascular risk. However, evidence regarding MUFAs and risk of ASCVD remains conflicting, with recent studies raising concern about a potential higher risk associated with MUFA intake. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an overview of current knowledge and gaps in the literature regarding MUFAs and the risk of ASCVD with a focus on intake, individual types, and content in adipose tissue as a biomarker of endogenous exposure. Main findings reveal that most studies have inappropriately combined all MUFAs together, despite individual MUFA types having different biological effects and showing varying correlations between dietary intake and adipose tissue content. Adipose tissue composition may serve as a biomarker of long-term MUFA exposure, reflecting cumulative intake over one to two years while minimizing biases inherent in dietary assessments. However, tissue levels reflect both dietary intake and endogenous synthesis, complicating interpretation. Importantly, the source of MUFAs appears critical, with plant-derived MUFAs potentially offering advantages over animal-derived sources. In conclusion, we suggest that future research should focus on individual MUFA types rather than treating them as a homogeneous group, investigate their specific dietary sources and associations with ASCVD risk, and use adipose tissue biomarkers to improve exposure assessment and clarify causal relationships while considering overall dietary patterns.

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Accepted/In Press date: 29 July 2025
Published date: 30 July 2025

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Local EPrints ID: 504861
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/504861
ISSN: 2072-6643
PURE UUID: ce8772e7-6964-42f7-94e5-0cd51621b795
ORCID for Philip C. Calder: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6038-710X

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Date deposited: 19 Sep 2025 16:47
Last modified: 20 Sep 2025 01:35

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Author: Jonas Pedersen
Author: Berit Storgaard Hedegaard
Author: Erik Berg Schmidt
Author: Christina C. Dahm
Author: Kirsten B. Holven
Author: Kjetil Retterstol
Author: Christian Bork

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