Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29931035›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of clinical nutrition2018

Best practices for the design, laboratory analysis, and reporting of trials involving fatty acids.

J Thomas Brenna, Mélanie Plourde, Ken D Stark, Peter J Jones, Yu-Hong Lin

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

73 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  20. Prediction of cognitive outcome and progression to dementia using ω6-PUFA/ω3-PUFA ratio.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article

13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

J Thomas BrennaDell Pediatric Research Institute, Departments of Pediatrics, Nutrition, and Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Mélanie PlourdeResearch Center on Aging, Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.
Ken D StarkDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Peter J JonesRichardson Center for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Yu-Hong LinDivision of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, NIAAA, NIH, Bethesda, MD.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fatty acids are among the most studied nutrients in human metabolism and health. Endogenous fatty acid status influences health and disease via multiple mechanisms at all stages of the life cycle. Despite widespread interest, attempts to summarize the results of multiple studies addressing similar fatty acid-related outcomes via meta-analyses and systematic reviews have been disappointing, largely because of heterogeneity in study design, sampling, and laboratory and data analyses. Our purpose is to recommend best practices for fatty acid clinical nutrition and medical studies. Key issues in study design include judicious choice of sampled endogenous pools for fatty acid analysis, considering relevant physiologic state, duration of intervention and/or observation, consideration of specific fatty acid dynamics to link intake and endogenous concentrations, and interpretation of results with respect to known fatty acid ranges. Key laboratory considerations include proper sample storage, use of sample preparation methods known to be fit-for-purpose via published validation studies, detailed reporting or methods to establish proper fatty acid identification, and quantitative analysis, including calibration of differential response, quality control procedures, and reporting of data on a minimal set of fatty acids to enable comprehensive interpretation. We present a checklist of recommendations for fatty acid best practices to facilitate design, review, and evaluation of studies with the intention of improving study reproducibility.

Indexed as

Research DesignErythrocytesFatty AcidsHumansIntention to Treat AnalysisLaboratoriesLipidsPhospholipidsQuality ControlRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicReproducibility of ResultsFatty AcidsLipidsPhospholipids

Identifiers

PMID29931035
PMCPMC6084616

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.