The association between omega-3 fatty acid biomarkers and inflammatory arthritis in an anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive population. (4th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gan, Ryan W.; Bemis, Elizabeth A.; Demoruelle, M. Kristen; Striebich, Christopher C.; Brake, Stacey; Feser, Marie L.; Moss, LauraKay; Clare-Salzler, Michael; Holers, V. Michael; Deane, Kevin D.; Norris, Jill M.
• Is Part Of: Rheumatology. Volume 56:Number 12(2017)
• Page Start: 2229
• Page End: 2236
• Publication Date: 2017-10-04
• Subjects: rheumatoid arthritis -- autoinflammatory conditions -- autoantigens and autoantibodies -- epidemiology -- diet therapy; Rheumatism -- Periodicals; Rheumatology -- Periodicals; 616.723005
• DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kex360
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1462-0324

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: Higher circulating omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) are associated with a lower prevalence of anti-CCP antibodies and RF in subjects without RA. We examined whether, in anti-CCP + subjects, n-3 FAs also play a role in development of inflammatory arthritis (IA). Methods: At Colorado-based health fairs from 2008 to 2014, participants without a previous diagnosis of RA who were anti-CCP3 + (n = 47) were recruited into a follow-up study; symptom assessments and joint examinations were conducted every 6 months for the determination of IA. We measured n-3 FAs as a percentage of total lipids in red blood cell membranes (n-3 FA%) at each visit. Results: We detected IA in 10 anti-CCP3 + subjects (21%) at the baseline visit. Increased total n-3 FA% in red blood cell membranes [odds ratio (OR) = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.76], specifically docosapentaenoic acid (OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.83) and docosahexaenoic acid (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.86), was associated with a lower odds of IA at the baseline visit, adjusting for n-3 FA supplement use, current smoking, RF +, elevated CRP + and shared epitope. We followed 35 of the anti-CCP3 + subjects who were IA negative at baseline and detected 14 incident IA cases over an average of 2.56 years of follow-up. In a time-varying survival analysis, increasing docosapentaenoic acid significantly decreased risk of incident IA (hazard ratio = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.98), adjusting for age at baseline, n-3 FA supplement use, RF +, CRP + and shared epitope. Conclusion: n-3 FAs may potentially lower the risk of transition from anti-CCP positivity to IA, an observation that warrants further investigation.