The studies were ancillary to the ARIC study. A cross-sectional study examined the association of plasma fatty acids with plasma lipids, hemostatic parameters, and blood pressure. A nested case-control study examined the association of plasma fatty acids in 75 Minnesota cases with carotid atherosclerosis versus 75 normal matched controls. A third study examined the association of plasma fatty acids with incident clinical cardiovascular events, namely myocardial infarction and stroke.