Survey of the erythrocyte EPA+DHA levels in the heart attack/stroke belt

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2019

Abstract

Background: The Omega-3 Index (O3I; erythrocyte EPA+DHA as a percent of total fatty acids) is inversely related to risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The cardioprotective target O3I is 8%–12%. O3I levels in American regions with high CVD risk are poorly characterized. Purpose: To determine the O3I in individuals participating in a Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) survey in seven US cities in the CVD “belt.” Methods: Fingerstick blood samples were analyzed for the O3I. Results: The SNP cohort (n = 2177) had a mean (SD) O3I of 4.42% (1.12%). Only 1.2% were in the desirable range, whereas 42% had an undesirable (<4%) O3I. The mean (SD) O3I in a subset of 772 SNP subjects who were matched for age and sex with the Framingham study was 4.6% (1.2%) compared 5.3% (1.6%) in the Framingham cohort (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Individuals in the CVD “belt” had relatively low O3I levels. Since in other settings, a low O3I is associated with increased risk for CVD, this may be one factor contributing to the higher risk for CVD in this region of the US.

Publication Title

Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids

Volume

148

First Page

30

Last Page

34

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/j.plefa.2019.07.010

PubMed ID

31492431

ISSN

09523278

E-ISSN

15322823

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