Background/Objectives: Dietary guidelines recommend limiting trans fatty acid (TFA)
intake to avoid adverse health effects. However, the impact of TFA intake in type
1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate
the levels of TFAs in plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids of young diabetic patients
and healthy controls. Methods: Data were re-analyzed from three case-control studies
including diabetic children (n = 40, mean age: 12.0 years), diabetic young adults
(n = 34, mean age: 21.8 years), and children with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA, n =
9, mean age: 16.0 years). In these studies, TFA data were quantified by gas chromatography,
but data have not yet been published. Results: Diabetic young adults and diabetic
children had significantly lower TFAs in plasma lipids compared to healthy controls
(sum of TFA in plasma sterol esters: 0.54 [0.34] versus 0.64 [0.37] and 0.51 [0.13]
versus 0.65 [0.29], %, median [interquartile range], p < 0.05). However, children
with DKA had significantly higher TFA levels in almost all plasma lipid fractions
than the other two diabetic groups. Several negative correlations were observed between
TFA and n-3 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in all groups, especially
in the erythrocyte membrane lipid fractions. However, in the plasma fractions the
correlation was less clear; both positive and negative correlations were found in
each of the groups studied. Conclusions: Lower TFA values in young adults and children
with diabetes may be associated with dietary patterns lower in TFAs, while elevated
TFA values in DKA may be linked to challenges in adherence to dietary guidelines.
