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Blood n-3 fatty acid levels and total and cause-specific mortality from 17 prospective studies
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Blood n-3 fatty acid levels and total and cause-specific mortality from 17 prospective studies

William S Harris, Nathan L Tintle, Fumiaki Imamura, Frank Qian, Andres V Ardisson Korat, Matti Marklund, Luc Djoussé, Julie K Bassett, Pierre-Hugues Carmichael, Yun-Yu Chen, …
Nature communications, Vol.12(1), pp.2329-9
04/22/2021
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22370-2
PMCID: PMC8062567
PMID: 33888689
url
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22370-2View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The health effects of omega-3 fatty acids have been controversial. Here we report the results of a de novo pooled analysis conducted with data from 17 prospective cohort studies examining the associations between blood omega-3 fatty acid levels and risk for all-cause mortality. Over a median of 16 years of follow-up, 15,720 deaths occurred among 42,466 individuals. We found that, after multivariable adjustment for relevant risk factors, risk for death from all causes was significantly lower (by 15-18%, at least p < 0.003) in the highest vs the lowest quintile for circulating long chain (20-22 carbon) omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids). Similar relationships were seen for death from cardiovascular disease, cancer and other causes. No associations were seen with the 18-carbon omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid. These findings suggest that higher circulating levels of marine n-3 PUFA are associated with a lower risk of premature death.
Aged Aged, 80 and over Cause of Death Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - blood Female Follow-Up Studies Humans Male Middle Aged Mortality, Premature Prospective Studies Protective Factors Risk Factors

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