We studied the relationship between dietary intake and the blood compositions of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (ARA) in four study groups with different ages and sexes. One hundred and four subjects were recruited. Dietary records together with photographic records from 28 consecutive days were amassed and the fatty acid composition in erythrocyte membranes and plasma lipid fractions was analyzed. Fish intake in the elderly group was significantly higher than that in the young group in both men and women. The compositions of ARA in erythrocytes and plasma phospholipids in the elderly were lower than those in the young, but the ARA intake was nearly identical. In the elderly group, the percentage of dietary ARA consumed at the same time as EPA and DHA derived from fish was high. We considered that these fatty acids markedly inhibited the incorporation of dietary ARA into blood phospholipids.
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