Plasma fatty acid biomarkers are associated with gait speed in community-dwelling older adults: The Three-City-Bordeaux study

The 3C Study supports are listed on the Study website (www.three-city-study.com). The fatty acid analyses performed by EP were supported by the Conseil Regional d'Aquitaine. EF was supported by the Fondation Recherche Medicale through grant number DEA20120624709Background & aims: Nutritional factors, such as fatty acids (FA), could modulate physical performance in the elderly. In particular, the opposite properties of long-chain n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated FAs (LC PUFAs) could impact muscle function. We aimed to assess the cross-sectional association between plasma FAs and gait speed in French elderly community-dwellers.Methods:Elderly participants from the Bordeaux centre of the Three-City Study were included. The proportion of 12 FAs, and gait speed (m/s) were measured concomitantly at enrollment. Low gait speed (LGS) was defined as below the first quartile of gait speed. FA patterns were derived from the 12 individual FAs using principal component analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used and odds-ratios (OR) were expressed per one additional standard-deviation unit of each plasma FA or per one additional unit of pattern score.Results: Among 982 participants, 239 (243%) had a low gait speed (