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

Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE)

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22370-2

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

Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE)

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Article number	2329
Pages (from-to)	1-9
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22370-2
Publication status	Published - 22 Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

Funding

The authors below declare the following competing interests outside of the submitted work. A.I.B., Involvement in a research project partly funded by Unilever. A.S.V., Grants and support to attend professional meetings from the California Walnut Commission. B. M.P., Data and Safety Monitoring Board of a clinical trial funded by Zoll LifeCor; Steering Committee of the Yale Open Data Access Project funded by Johnson & Johnson. D.M., Research grants to Institution: the National Institutes of Health, the Gates Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation; Personal Fees: the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3, Bunge, Indigo Agriculture, Motif FoodWorks, Amarin, Acasti Pharma, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Danone, and America’s Test Kitchen; Scientific Advisory Boards: Brightseed, Calibrate, DayTwo, Elysium Health, Filtricine, Foodome, Human Co., and Tiny Organics; and Chapter Royalties: UpToDate. J.G.R., Research grants to Institution: Acasti, Amarin, Amgen, Astra-Zeneca, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medicines Company, Merck, Novartis, Novo-Nordisk, Regeneron, and Sanofi. Consultant: Getz Pharma, Medicines Company, and Sanofi. R.A.M., Research grants to Institution: I. L.S.I. North America; Personal Fees from PharmaVite. The author below declares the following competing interests related to the submitted work. W.S.H., Stock in Omega-Quant Analytics, LLC (a laboratory that offers blood fatty acid testing); Schiff Institute Science and Innovation Advisory Board. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

Funders	Funder number
America’s Test Kitchen
National Institutes of Health
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
Unilever

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41467-021-22370-2

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

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.",

author = "Harris, {William S.} and Tintle, {Nathan L.} and Fumiaki Imamura and Frank Qian and Korat, {Andres V.Ardisson} and Matti Marklund and Luc Djouss{\'e} and Bassett, {Julie K.} and Carmichael, {Pierre Hugues} and Chen, {Yun Yu} and Yoichiro Hirakawa and K{\"u}pers, {Leanne K.} and Federica Laguzzi and Maria Lankinen and Murphy, {Rachel A.} and C{\'e}cilia Samieri and Senn, {Mackenzie K.} and Peilin Shi and Virtanen, {Jyrki K.} and Brouwer, {Ingeborg A.} and Chien, {Kuo Liong} and Gudny Eiriksdottir and Forouhi, {Nita G.} and Geleijnse, {Johanna M.} and Giles, {Graham G.} and Vilmundur Gudnason and Catherine Helmer and Allison Hodge and Rebecca Jackson and Khaw, {Kay Tee} and Markku Laakso and Heidi Lai and Danielle Laurin and Karin Leander and Joan Lindsay and Renata Micha and Jaako Mursu and Toshiharu Ninomiya and Wendy Post and Psaty, {Bruce M.} and Ulf Ris{\'e}rus and Robinson, {Jennifer G.} and Shadyab, {Aladdin H.} and Linda Snetselaar and Aleix Sala-Vila and Yangbo Sun and Steffen, {Lyn M.} and Tsai, {Michael Y.} and Wareham, {Nicholas J.} and Wood, {Alexis C.} and Wu, {Jason H.Y.} and Frank Hu and Qi Sun and Siscovick, {David S.} and Lemaitre, {Rozenn N.} and Dariush Mozaffarian and {Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE)}",

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AU - Tintle, Nathan L.

AU - Imamura, Fumiaki

AU - Qian, Frank

AU - Korat, Andres V.Ardisson

AU - Marklund, Matti

AU - Djoussé, Luc

AU - Bassett, Julie K.

AU - Carmichael, Pierre Hugues

AU - Chen, Yun Yu

AU - Hirakawa, Yoichiro

AU - Küpers, Leanne K.

AU - Laguzzi, Federica

AU - Lankinen, Maria

AU - Murphy, Rachel A.

AU - Samieri, Cécilia

AU - Senn, Mackenzie K.

AU - Shi, Peilin

AU - Virtanen, Jyrki K.

AU - Brouwer, Ingeborg A.

AU - Chien, Kuo Liong

AU - Eiriksdottir, Gudny

AU - Forouhi, Nita G.

AU - Geleijnse, Johanna M.

AU - Giles, Graham G.

AU - Gudnason, Vilmundur

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AU - Hodge, Allison

AU - Jackson, Rebecca

AU - Khaw, Kay Tee

AU - Laakso, Markku

AU - Lai, Heidi

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AU - Mursu, Jaako

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AU - Lemaitre, Rozenn N.

AU - Mozaffarian, Dariush

AU - Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE)

N1 - Copyright: This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

PY - 2021/4/22

Y1 - 2021/4/22

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

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

Abstract

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Funding

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