Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Language
English
Publication Date
10-15-2023
Journal
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
DOI
10.1164/rccm.202301-0074OC
PMID
37470492
PMCID
PMC12042777
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-20-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
Rationale: Inflammation contributes to lung function decline and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Omega-3 fatty acids have antiinflammatory properties and may benefit lung health.
Objectives: To investigate associations of omega-3 fatty acids with lung function decline and incident airway obstruction in a diverse sample of adults from general-population cohorts.
Methods: Complementary study designs: 1) longitudinal study of plasma phospholipid omega-3 fatty acids and repeated FEV1 and FVC measures in the NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study and 2) two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study of genetically predicted omega-3 fatty acids and lung function parameters.
Measurements and Main Results: The longitudinal study found that higher omega-3 fatty acid levels were associated with attenuated lung function decline in 15,063 participants, with the largest effect sizes for the most metabolically downstream omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). An increase in DHA of 1% of total fatty acids was associated with attenuations of 1.4 ml/yr for FEV1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.8) and 2.0 ml/yr for FVC (95% CI, 1.6-2.4) and a 7% lower incidence of spirometry-defined airway obstruction (95% CI, 0.89-0.97). DHA associations persisted across sexes and smoking histories and in Black, White, and Hispanic participants, with associations of the largest magnitude in former smokers and Hispanic participants. The MR study showed similar trends toward positive associations of genetically predicted downstream omega-3 fatty acids with FEV1 and FVC.
Conclusions: The longitudinal and MR studies provide evidence supporting beneficial effects of higher levels of downstream omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, on lung health.
Keywords
Adult, Humans, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Longitudinal Studies, Lung, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Airway Obstruction, Docosahexaenoic Acids
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Patchen, Bonnie K; Balte, Pallavi; Bartz, Traci M; et al., "Investigating Associations of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Lung Function Decline, and Airway Obstruction" (2023). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 1216.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthsph_docs/1216