UCSF LogoA study claims that patients suffering from coronary heart disease, having more 3 fatty acid blood levels appeared to have an allied lower rate of curbing of telomere length, a chromosome marker of biological aging. This appears to increase the option that these fatty acids could shield against cellular aging.

Numerous studies appear to have exhibited augmented survival rates among people with elevated dietary consumption of marine omega-3 fatty acids and confirmed cardiovascular disease. The technique underlying this defensive result is supposedly not well comprehended. This was provided as background information in the article.

Telomeres are claimed to be a structure at the end of a chromosome caught up in the duplication and constancy of the chromosome. Genetic issues and ecological stressors may cut down the length of the telomere, with telomere length turning into a budding marker of biological age.

A study to find out whether omega-3 fatty acid blood levels seemed to be linked to alterations in leukocyte telomere length was conducted by Ramin Farzaneh-Far, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues. The study was performed in around 608 outpatients suffering from stable coronary artery disease. The patients were apparently enlisted between September 2000 and December 2002 for the Heart and Soul Study, and followed up to January 2009. The study authors supposedly gauged leukocyte telomere length at the start of the study and again post 5 years of follow-up. Multivariable models were said to be applied to look at the relationship of baseline levels of omega-3 fatty acids i.e. docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] and eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] with following modifications in telomere length.

The study authors apparently discovered that people in the least quartile of DHA+EPA appeared to have undergone the most swift rate of telomere shortening, while those in the maximum quartile is believed to have gone through the slowest rate of telomere shortening.

The authors commented, “Levels of DHA+EPA were associated with less telomere shortening before and after sequential adjustment for established risk factors and potential confounders. Each 1-standard deviation increase in DHA+EPA levels was associated with a 32 percent reduction in the odds of telomere shortening.”

The authors remarked, “In summary, among patients with stable coronary artery disease, there was an inverse relationship between baseline blood levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids and the rate of telomere shortening over 5 years.”

The authors mentioned that these findings raise the possibility that omega-3 fatty acids may protect against cellular aging in patients with coronary heart disease.

The study was published in JAMA.