Relationship between plasma insulin and erythrocyte fatty acid composition

Abstract Insulin resistance is an important condition which underlies much of the coronary artery disease in affluent societies. We have related insulin resistance, as assessed by fasting plasma insulin, to erythrocyte membrane composition in 54 healthy men and women on a low fat diet. We found a inverse relationship (r = −0.41, P = 0.002) between fasting plasma insulin and the percentage of arachidonic acid in erythrocyte fatty acids. An inverse relationship of similar strength was found with total n-6 fatty acids and a positive relationship was found with the percentage of saturated fatty acids (r = 0.39, P