Marine n-3 Fatty Acids and the Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease

The content of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in adipose tissue is considered a long-term biomarker for the body's endogenous exposure to seafood.

This study sought to examine associations between the content of marine n-3 PUFAs in adipose tissue and the risk of incident peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

In this case-cohort study based on data from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort, adipose tissue biopsies were taken from the buttocks of all participants at baseline. After a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 870 validated cases of PAD were identified and included together with a randomly drawn subcohort of 3,204 participants using weighted Cox regression. Adipose tissue samples were analyzed by gas chromatography.

In multivariable analyses using the lowest quintile as the reference and adjusting for established risk factors for PAD, we found a statistically significant lower rate of PAD in the highest quintile of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41 to 0.74) and a nonsignificant lower rate for docosahexaenoic acid (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.06). We observed a lower rate of PAD, when comparing the highest quintile of the combined EPA and docosahexaenoic acid with the reference (HR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.96). In contrast, docosapentaenoic acid had an HR of 1.31 (95% CI: 0.97 to 1.77) in the highest quintile.

A high content of marine n-3 PUFAs in adipose tissue, in particular EPA, was associated with a lower risk of incident PAD.