"We intended to help resolve the existing uncertainties around fatty acids and their potential association with coronary heart disease risk," Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury told Reuters Health in an email.
Chowdhury, from the University of Cambridge in the UK, led the review that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
He and his colleagues collected data from 72 previously published studies of more than 600,000 people from 18 countries.
Those included studies that measured the types of fatty acids people consumed or had in their blood, as well as those that randomly assigned people to take fatty acid supplements or not.
All of the studies followed participants to see who developed heart problems like heart attacks, heart disease or coronary insufficiency.
When Chowdhury and his team analyzed data on fatty acid intake, they found that none of the types of saturated or polyunsaturated fats had a significant impact on heart disease risk.
When the researchers examined markers of fatty acids in the blood, they also found little difference in heart risk based on levels of saturated or polyunsaturated fats. But the results varied for individual fatty acids.
The researchers found that higher blood levels of two forms of omega-3 fatty acids - docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) - were associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A2G1ON20140317
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