Blood Levels of Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids and the Risk of Sudden Death
By Christine M. Albert, MD, M.P.H., Hannia Campos, Ph.D., Meir J. Stampfer, MD, Dr.P.H., Paul M. Ridker, MD, M.P.H., JoAnn E. Manson, MD, Dr.P.H., Walter C. Willett, MD, Dr.P.H., and Jing Ma, MD, Ph.D.
Abstract
Methods
We conducted a prospective, nested case-control analysis among apparently healthy men who were followed for up to 17 years in the Physicians' Health Study. The fatty-acid composition of previously collected blood was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography for 94 men in whom sudden death occurred as the first manifestation of cardiovascular disease and for 184 controls matched with them for age and smoking status.
Results
Base-line blood levels of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids were inversely related to the risk of sudden death both before adjustment for potential confounders (P for trend = 0.004) and after such adjustment (P for trend = 0.007). As compared with men whose blood levels of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids were in the lowest quartile, the relative risk of sudden death was significantly lower among men with levels in the third quartile (adjusted relative risk, 0.28; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.09 to 0.87) and the fourth quartile (adjusted relative risk, 0.19; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.05 to 0.71).
Conclusions
The Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are strongly associated with a reduced risk of sudden death among men without evidence of prior cardiovascular disease. This report represents yet another reminder of the importance of Omega-3 essential fatty acids in our modern diet.
Source Information
NEJM -- Abstracts: Albert et al.346 (15): 1113 http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/346/15/1113.