In a new study, researchers found that a low omega-3 Index is just as powerful in predicting early death as smoking.
This finding is rooted in data from the Framingham study, one of the longest-running studies in the world.
The Framingham Heart Study provided unique insights into heart disease risk factors and led to the development of the Framingham Risk Score based on eight baseline standard risk factors—age, sex, smoking, hypertension treatment, diabetes status, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol.
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death globally, and risk can be reduced by changing behavioral factors such as unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and use of tobacco and alcohol.
In the study, the team found diet-based biomarkers such as fatty acids (FAs), whether measured in plasma or red blood cell (RBC) membranes, can predict early death effectively.
The FAs most clearly linked to reduced risk for heart disease and for total mortality (i.e., death from any cause) are the omega-3 FAs, EPA and DHA, which are typically found in fish like salmon and herring, as well as omega-3 supplements like fish and algal oil.
In fact, individuals with the highest omega-3 index were 33% less likely to die during the follow-up years compared with those with the lowest omega-3 index.
The omega-3 index measures the amount of EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes and is a marker of omega-3 status.
An optimal omega-3 index is 8% or higher, an intermediate omega-3 index is between 4% and 8%, and a low omega-3 index is 4% and below.
Most Americans have an omega-3 index below 4%, which puts them at a much higher risk of early death.
The team says that in Japan, where the mean omega-3 index is greater than 8%, the expected life span is around five years longer than it is in the United States, where the mean omega-3 index is about 5%.
Hence, in practice, dietary choices that change the omega-3 index may prolong life.
The team also found smoking and the omega-3 index seem to be the most easily modified risk factors.
Being a current smoker (at age 65) is predicted to subtract more than four years of life (compared with not smoking), a life-shortening equivalent to having a low vs. a high omega-3 index.
If you care about nutrition and your health, please read studies about fish oil supplements may boost fertility in men and findings of 5 supplements may improve your eye health and vision.
For more information about food and wellness, please see recent studies about should you take melatonin supplements for good sleep? and results showing that omega-3 supplements may slightly increase cancer risk.
The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One author of the study is Michael McBurney, Ph.D., FCNS-SCN.
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