Omega-3 intake is associated with liver disease protection

Mara Sophie Vell; Kate Townsend Creasy; Eleonora Scorletti; Katharina Sophie Seeling; Leonida Hehl; Miriam Daphne Rendel; Kai Markus Schneider; Carolin Victoria Schneider

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1192099

Omega-3 intake is associated with liver disease protection

Front Public Health. 2023 Jul 19:11:1192099. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1192099. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mara Sophie Vell¹, Kate Townsend Creasy², Eleonora Scorletti³, Katharina Sophie Seeling¹, Leonida Hehl¹, Miriam Daphne Rendel¹, Kai Markus Schneider¹, Carolin Victoria Schneider^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine III, Gastroenterology, Metabolic Diseases and Intensive Care, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.
² Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
³ Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
⁴ The Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, The Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease are among the most common liver diseases worldwide, and there are currently no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatments. Recent studies have focused on lifestyle changes to prevent and treat NAFLD. Omega-3 supplementation is associated with improved outcomes in patients with chronic liver disease. However, it is unclear whether Omega-3 supplementation can prevent the development of liver disease, particularly in individuals at an increased (genetic) risk.

Methods: In this UK Biobank cohort study, we established a multivariate cox proportional hazards model for the risk of incident liver disease during an 11 year follow up time. We adjusted the model for diabetes, prevalent cardiovascular disorders, socioeconomic status, diet, alcohol consumption, physical activity, medication intake (insulin, biguanides, statins and aspirin), and baseline characteristics.

Results: Omega-3 supplementation reduced the risk of incident liver disease (HR = 0.716; 95% CI: 0.639, 0.802; p = 7.6 × 10^-9). This protective association was particularly evident for alcoholic liver disease (HR = 0.559; 95% CI: 0.347, 0.833; p = 4.3 × 10^-3), liver failure (HR = 0.548; 95% CI: 0.343, 0.875; p = 1.2 × 10^-2), and non-alcoholic liver disease (HR = 0.784; 95% CI: 0.650, 0.944; p = 1.0 × 10^-2). Interestingly, we were able to replicate the association with reduced risk of NAFLD in a subset with liver MRIs (HR = 0.846; 95% CI: 0.777, 0.921; p = 1.1 × 10^-4). In particular, women benefited from Omega-3 supplementation as well as heterozygous allele carriers of the liver-damaging variant PNPLA3 rs738409.

Conclusions: Omega-3 supplementation may reduce the incidence of liver disease. Our study highlights the potential of personalized treatment strategies for individuals at risk of metabolic liver disease. Further evaluation in clinical trials is warranted before Omega-3 can be recommended for the prevention of liver disease.

Keywords: NAFLD; Omega-3 fatty acids; alcoholic liver disease (ALD); liver disease; primary prevention.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cohort Studies
Diet
Female
Humans
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / epidemiology
Risk Factors

Grants and funding

CS is supported by a grant from the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research within the faculty of Medicine at the RWTH Aachen University (PTD 1-13/IA 532313) and the NRW Rueckkehr Programme of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW). KMS is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW) under the Excellence strategy of the federal government and the Laender.