Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #163028
Title: DETERMINANTS OF PLASMA DIHYDROPHYLLOQUINONE IN MEN AND WOMEN

Author
item ERKKILA, ARJA - TUFTS-HNRCA
item LICHTENSTEIN, ALICE - TUFTS-HNRCA
item JACQUES, PAUL - TUFTS-HNRCA
item HU, FRANK - HARVARD SCH OF PUB HEALTH
item WILSON, PETER - MED UNIV OF S CAROLINA
item BOOTH, SARAH - TUFTS-HNRCA

Submitted to: British Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/8/2004
Publication Date: 6/15/2005
Citation: Erkkila, A.T., Lichtenstein, A.H., Jacques, P.F., Hu, F.B., Wilson, P.W., Booth, S.L. 2005. Determinants of plasma dihydrophylloquinone in men and women. British Journal of Nutrition. 93:701-708.

Interpretive Summary: Commercial hydrogenation of plant oils results in the formation of /trans/ fatty acids and conversion of vitamin K to a form of vitamin K called dihydrophylloquinone (dK). The contribution of dK to total vitamin K intake is not well studied, nor have the determinants of plasma dK been characterized. Dietary determinants of plasma dK were estimated in 828 men and 923 women participating in the Framingham Offspring Study. The average dK intake was 21.3 µg/d in men and 19.4 µg/d in women. Non-dietary factors associated with dK intake were age, body mass index, and among women, hormone replacement therapy. Detectable plasma dK concentrations were measured in 40.0% and 30.9% of men and women, respectively. The odds of measuring detectable plasma dK significantly increased with each increasing category of dK intake. Higher dK intake, but not plasma dK, was associated with higher percent of subjects with elevated undercarboxylated osteocalcin, a marker of poor vitamin K status. Higher /trans/ fatty acid intake was associated with higher odds for detectable plasma dK. In conclusion, higher dK intake was associated with higher plasma dK and higher /trans/ fatty acid intake. These data support the use of the common dietary instruments for assessment of dK intake in population-based studies.

Technical Abstract: Commercial hydrogenation results in the formation of trans fatty acids. An unintended consequence of the hydrogenation process is conversion of phylloquinone (vitamin K**1) to dihydrophylloquinone. Plasma dihydrophylloquinone concentrations have yet to be characterized in population-based studies. Dietary determinants of plasma dihydrophylloquinone were estimated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire in 803 men and 913 women in the Framingham Offspring Study. Geometric mean (95% CI) dihydrophylloquinone intake was 21.3 (20.4, 22.3) microg/d in men and 19.4 (18.5, 20.2) microg/d in women. Detectable (>0.05 nmol/L) plasma dihydrophylloquinone concentrations were measured in 41% and 30% of men and women, respectively. The multivariate odds ratio (OR, 95% CI) of detectable plasma dihydrophylloquinone from the lowest to the highest quartile category of dihydrophylloquinone intake were 1 (referent), 1.13 (0.83-1.53), 1.66 (1.21-2.26), and 1.84 (1.31-2.58), P for trend <0.001, adjusted for sex, age, body mass index, triglyceride, season and energy intake. Higher trans fatty acid intake was associated with higher multivariate OR for detectable plasma dihydrophylloquinone (OR comparing extreme quartiles 2.41 [1.59-3.64], P for trend <0.001). There were limitations in the use of plasma dihydrophylloquinone, evident in the high proportion of the population that had non-detectable dihydrophylloquinone concentrations. Despite this caveat, higher plasma dihydrophylloquinone was associated with higher dihydrophylloquinone intake and higher trans fatty acid intake.