Red blood cell fatty acid patterns from 7 countries: Focus on the Omega-3 index

Jan Philipp Schuchardt; Marianna Cerrato; Martina Ceseri; Laura F DeFina; Graciela E Delgado; Sandra Gellert; Andreas Hahn; Barbara V Howard; Aya Kadota; Marcus E Kleber; Roberto Latini; Winfried Maerz; JoAnn E Manson; Samia Mora; Yongsoon Park; Aleix Sala-Vila; Clemens von Schacky; Akira Sekikawa; Nathan Tintle; Katherine L Tucker; Ramachandran S Vasan; William S Harris

doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2022.102418

Red blood cell fatty acid patterns from 7 countries: Focus on the Omega-3 index

Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2022 Apr:179:102418. doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2022.102418. Epub 2022 Mar 24.

Authors

Jan Philipp Schuchardt¹, Marianna Cerrato², Martina Ceseri², Laura F DeFina³, Graciela E Delgado⁴, Sandra Gellert⁵, Andreas Hahn⁵, Barbara V Howard⁶, Aya Kadota⁷, Marcus E Kleber⁸, Roberto Latini², Winfried Maerz⁹, JoAnn E Manson¹⁰, Samia Mora¹¹, Yongsoon Park¹², Aleix Sala-Vila¹³, Clemens von Schacky¹⁴, Akira Sekikawa¹⁵, Nathan Tintle¹⁶, Katherine L Tucker¹⁷, Ramachandran S Vasan¹⁸, William S Harris¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, Hannover 30167, Germany; The Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA. Electronic address: schuchardt@nutrition.uni-hannover.de.
² Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
³ The Cooper Institute, Dallas, TX, USA.
⁴ Vth Department of Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, Hannover 30167, Germany.
⁶ MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD, USA.
⁷ NCD Epidemiology Research Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
⁸ Vth Department of Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; SYNLAB MVZ Humangenetik Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
⁹ Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; Medical Clinic V, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; SYNLAB Academy, Mannheim, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹² The Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA; Department of Food and Nutrition, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea.
¹³ The Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA; Cardiovascular risk and nutrition group, IMIM-Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁴ Omegametrix, Martinsried, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁶ The Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA; Department of Population Health Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of Illinois - Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Biomedical Nutritional Sciences and Center for Population Health, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Medicine, Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁹ The Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD, USA.

Abstract

Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid (FA) patterns are becoming recognized as long-term biomarkers of tissue FA composition, but different analytical methods have complicated inter-study and international comparisons. Here we report RBC FA data, with a focus on the Omega-3 Index (EPA + DHA in% of total FAs in RBC), from samples of seven countries (USA, Canada, Italy, Spain, Germany, South Korea, and Japan) including 167,347 individuals (93% of all samples were from the US). FA data were generated by a uniform methodology from a variety of interventional and observational studies and from clinical laboratories. The cohorts differed in size, demographics, health status, and year of collection. Only the Canadian cohort was a formal, representative population-based survey. The mean Omega-3 Index of each country was categorized as desirable (>8%), moderate (>6% to 8%), low (>4% to 6%), or very low (≤4%). Only cohorts from Alaska (treated separately from the US), South Korea and Japan showed a desirable Omega-3 Index. The Spanish cohort had a moderate Omega-3 Index, while cohorts from the US, Canada, Italy, and Germany were all classified as low. This study is limited by the use of cohorts of convenience and small sample sizes in some countries. Countries undertaking national health status studies should utilize a uniform method to measure Omega-3 FA levels.

Keywords: DHA; EPA; Erythrocyte; Fatty acid; Fish intake; Omega-3 Index.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Canada
Docosahexaenoic Acids*
Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Erythrocytes
Fatty Acids
Fatty Acids, Omega-3*
Humans

Substances

Fatty Acids
Fatty Acids, Omega-3
Docosahexaenoic Acids
Eicosapentaenoic Acid

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding