Estimating intake of individual dietary fatty acids in large-scale cohort studies as potentially modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease

The role of individual dietary fatty acids in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is unclear. In this project we aim to incorporate nutrition data on intake of individual fatty acids into the Oxford WebQ questionnaire, a web-based dietary assessment tool that is already being used by multiple large cohort studies to assess the dietary intake of the participants in the previous 24 hours. In this project we will match the Oxford WebQ food list with the food items of a larger food composition table which contains information on individual dietary fatty acids. The planned work will include quality control analyses to confirm the quality of the food matching and to avoid errors. These new data will support research to examine the association between intake of individual fatty acids and risk of CVD in multiple studies. Such projects have real potential to yield high-impact findings and would enhance our understanding of the association between dietary fatty acids and CVD. This should have important implications for public health for guiding individuals to make informed dietary choices to optimise their health.