Do elevated blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids modify effects of particulate air pollutants on fibrinogen?
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Observational cohort study examining effect modification of air pollution exposure by biomarker levels.
PubMed 30147809 · doi:10.1007/s11869-018-0586-0
What was done
Researchers measured plasma fibrinogen and omega-3 fatty acid levels (% of total identified fatty acids) in blood samples from 135 patients treated at the University of Rochester Medical Center for myocardial infarction or stable ischemic heart disease requiring cardiac catheterization. Using ambient measurements of ultrafine, accumulation mode, and fine particles (PM2.5), Delta-C, and black carbon, linear regression models with interaction terms were used to evaluate whether associations between pollutant concentrations over the preceding 1-96 hours and serum fibrinogen differed between individuals with high (>5.12%) versus low-to-medium (<=5.12%) serum omega-3 fatty acid levels.
What was found
Each 5.6 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration in the prior hour was associated with a 3.1% increase in fibrinogen (95% CI: 1.5%, 4.7%) in subjects with low-to-medium total omega-3 levels, but only a 0.9% increase (95% CI: -1.5%, 3.2%) in patients with high omega-3 levels. This pattern was observed for fish oil-derived docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids but not plant-derived alpha-linolenic acid. A similar attenuation was observed for black carbon in the prior 24 hours, but not for other particulate matter metrics.
Why it matters
This study provides evidence that higher circulating marine omega-3 fatty acids may mitigate acute prothrombotic and inflammatory fibrinogen responses triggered by particulate air pollution in cardiac patients.
Limits
The sample size was small (135 patients) and restricted to a single medical center population with cardiac disease. Ambient monitoring was used as a proxy for individual air pollution exposure, and residual confounding cannot be ruled out in an observational design.
Cited by
- supports Exposure to high levels of air particulate matter increases plasma fibrinogen levels, whereas high omega-3 intake blunts this increase.