Relationship between fatty acid intake and chronic neck/shoulder/upper limb pain without elevated CRP in a Japanese population: a cross-sectional analysis of the Shika study

Atsushi Asai  1 , Fumihiko Suzuki  2   3 , Hiromasa Tsujiguchi  1   2   4 , Akinori Hara  1   2   4 , Sakae Miyagi  5 , Takayuki Kannon  4   6 , Keita Suzuki  2 , Masaharu Nakamura  2 , Yukari Shimizu  7 , Thao Thi Thu Nguyen  8 , Kim Oanh Pham  1 , Tomoko Kasahara  1 , Shingo Nakai  1 , Koichiro Hayashi  1 , Aki Shibata  2 , Takashi Amatsu  1 , Tadashi Konoshita  9 , Yasuhiro Kambayashi  10 , Hirohito Tsuboi  11 , Atsushi Tajima  4   6 , Hiroyuki Nakamura  1   2   4

Although chronic pain (CP) is classified as inflammatory or non-inflammatory, the involvement of fatty acid intake in this process has not yet been exam-ined in detail. Therefore, the present study investigated whether the relationship between CP and fatty acid intake differs between high and low C-reactiveprotein (CRP) levels in middle-aged and elderly individuals in the Shika study. One-thousand and seven males and 1216 females with mean ages of 68⋅78and 69⋅65 years, respectively, participated in the present study. CRP was quantified by blood sampling from participants who responded to a CP ques-tionnaire. The brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) was used to assess fatty acid intake. Interactions were observed betweenCP and CRP on monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and eicosadienoic acid in a two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for sex, age, lack of exercise,lack of sleep, current smoking and drinking status, and BMI. MUFA (OR 1⋅359) and eicosadienoic acid (OR 1⋅072) were identified as significant inde-pendent variables for CP in a multiple logistic regression analysis, but only in the low CRP group. Only a high intake of MUFA and eicosadienoicacid was associated with chronic neck/shoulder/upper limb pain without elevated CRP. In psychogenic and neuropathic pain without elevated CRP, an increased intake of MUFA and eicosadienoic acid, a family member ofn-6 fatty acids, appears to affect CP. Further longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate this relationship.
Key words:Chronic pain: C-reactive protein: Cross-sectional study: Fatty acids: Logistic model

J Nutr Sci

11

e38