Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Background:</bold> Dietary fatty acid composition may influence hormonal balance, body composition, and metabolic health in athletes, but evidence in non-professional athletes is limited. This study identified dietary fatty acid patterns and examined their associations with testosterone-to-cortisol (T/C) ratio, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), metabolic variables, and anthropometric indices. <bold>Methods:</bold> In this cross-sectional study, 215 male and female athletes aged 18–35 years from Tabriz, Iran were recruited. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated 80-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and 58 fatty acids were converted into intake values. Body composition and anthropometric indices were measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and standard anthropometric methods. Serum testosterone, cortisol, insulin, cTnI, glucose, and lipid profile were assessed using standard enzymatic methods. Insulin resistance and sensitivity were estimated using homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), respectively. Dietary fatty acid patterns were derived by principal component analysis with varimax rotation, and associations with outcomes were evaluated using Analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and linear regression with adjustment for confounders. <bold>Results:</bold> Two dietary fatty acid patterns were identified: a prudent pattern rich in saturated fatty acids and a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-dominant pattern. Greater adherence to the PUFA-dominant pattern was associated with higher fat-free mass (FFM), muscle mass (MM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and bone mass (BM), and lower body fat percentage (BF %) after adjustment (P < 0.05). The prudent pattern was associated with lower cortisol concentrations (P = 0.008) and an inverted U-shaped association with testosterone and the T/C ratio (P = 0.049 and P = 0.028, respectively). No significant associations were found between either pattern and cTnI, fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, QUICKI, or lipid profile after adjustment (P > 0.05). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Dietary fatty acid patterns may be relevant to hormonal balance and body composition in adult non-professional athletes. A PUFA-dominant pattern was associated with a more favorable body composition, whereas a prudent pattern was linked to lower cortisol and non-linear changes in testosterone and T/C ratio. These findings suggest that dietary fatty acid quality and patterning may be more informative than total fat intake alone. </p>