Investigating associations of omega-3 fatty acids, lung function decline, and airway obstruction

Inflammation contributes to lung function decline and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and may benefit lung health.

Investigate associations of omega-3 fatty acids with lung function decline and incident airway obstruction in adults of diverse races/ethnicities from general population cohorts.

Complementary study designs: (1) longitudinal study of plasma phospholipid omega-3 fatty acids and repeated FEV ₁ and FVC measures in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Pooled Cohorts Study, and (2) two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) study of genetically predicted omega-3 fatty acids and lung function parameters.

The longitudinal study found that higher omega-3 fatty acid concentrations were associated with attenuated lung function decline in 15,063 participants, with the largest effect sizes for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). One standard deviation higher DHA was associated with an attenuation of 1.8 mL/year for FEV ₁ (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-2.2) and 2.4 mL/year for FVC (95% CI 1.9-3.0). One standard deviation higher DHA was also associated with a 9% lower incidence of spirometry-defined airway obstruction (95% CI 0.86-0.97). DHA associations persisted across sexes, smoking histories, and Black, white and Hispanic participants, with the largest magnitude associations in former smokers and Hispanics. The MR study showed positive associations of genetically predicted omega-3 fatty acids with FEV ₁ and FVC, with statistically significant findings across multiple MR methods.

The longitudinal and MR studies provide evidence supporting beneficial effects of higher circulating omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, on lung health.