Omega-3 fatty acids and mortality in patients referred for coronary angiography. The Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health Study. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kleber, Marcus E.; Delgado, Graciela E.; Lorkowski, Stefan; März, Winfried; von Schacky, Clemens
• Is Part Of: Atherosclerosis. Volume 252(2016)
• Page Start: 175
• Page End: 181
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Omega-3 fatty acids -- Alpha-linolenic acid -- Eicosapentaenoic acid -- Docosahexaenoic acid -- Mortality; Arteriosclerosis -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.136
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2016.06.049
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9150

Abstract

Abstract: Background and aims: There is an ongoing debate whether omega-3-fatty acids protect from cardiovascular disease mortality. We examined the associations of erythrocyte omega-3 fatty acids with mortality in patients referred for coronary angiography. Methods: Erythrocyte omega-3 fatty acid proportions were measured at baseline in 3259 participants of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health Study (LURIC) using the HS-Omega-3 Index method. Associations of omega-3 fatty acid proportions with mortality were investigated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: During a median follow-up of 9.9 years, 975 patients (29.9%) died, 614 patients (18.8%) from cardiovascular causes. Proportions of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in models adjusted for conventional cardiovascular risk factors. The strongest association was observed for EPA with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.89 (0.83–0.96) per increase of one standard deviation. Furthermore, we obtained evidence for a non-linear relation between EPA and mortality. Conclusions: EPA and DHA were associated with reduced mortality in LURIC, independent of other risk factors, with the association of EPA with mortality being non-linear. Highlights: Omega-3 fatty acids are inversely associated with mortality. For α-Linoleic acid only women showed reduced risk for all-cause mortality after adjustment for age and gender. The association of eicosapentaenoic acid with risk is non-linear and might be reverse J-shaped in men.