Levels of fatty acids in blood plasma in workers with vibration disease

Introduction. Changes in the levels of fatty acids (FA), reflecting the specifics of metabolic disorders in workers with vibration disease (VD), and persons with VD aggravated by metabolic syndrome (MS) have not been studied enough. Mass spectrometric study of the composition of FA in VD patients and cases suffered from VD in combination with MS seems justified, since these compounds can be included in the formation of disorders at the early stages of changes in health status under the influence of adverse factors, which will later establish significant prognostic indicators. Materials and methods. The levels of esterified and free forms of fatty acids: saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in blood plasma, were determined on an Agilent 7890A/5975C gas chromatograph. Results. The FA composition was studied in the surveyed cohort of people in vibration-hazardous occupations with a diagnosis of VD and VD+MS established in the clinic. Significant shifts in the FA levels were established, in VD + MS patients there was an increase in the concentrations of myristic, pentadecanoic, palmitic, margaric, stearic acids and ΣSFA when compared with VD patients. For all MUFAs and for ΣMUFA, large values were observed for the VD + MS group (p<0.001 to 0.027). For PUFAs, significant differences were noted in relation to the level of: α-linolenic, eicosatrienoic and eicosapentaenoic acids ω-3, total ω-3 PUFAs, linoleic, γ-linolenic and dihomo-γ-linolenic acids ω-6, total ω-6 PUFAs and total all PUFAs. Limitations. The results apply to sixty six vibration-hazardous occupations surveyed. The influence of experience and dietary preferences on the FA composition in blood plasma has not been studied. Conclusion. A study of the quantitative FA indicators in the blood plasma showed the total indicators of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in persons with VD+MS to be higher than in VD patients by 1.36, 1.33 and 1.12 times, respectively.