A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that marine and plant-based omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD).
The researchers pooled 19 cohort studies involving 45,637 subjects from 16 countries and looked at biomarkers of seafood-derived eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as plant-derived a-linoleic acid (ALA) in relation to incidence of CHD.
The study found that those subjects with the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood were 25% more likely to die from a heart attack compared with those with the highest levels.
Overall, seafood and plant-derived omega-3s were associated with a 10% reduced risk of fatal heart attack.
Study leader Dr Liana Del Gobbo, a cardiovascular research fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, commented: “These new results, including many studies which previously had not reported their findings, provide the most comprehensive picture to-date of how omega-3s may influence heart disease.”
