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Blood docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in vegans: Associations with age and gender and effects of an algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement.
Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr; 34(2):212-8.CN

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Several studies have demonstrated that vegetarians and vegans have much lower plasma concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids (i.e., docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids) when compared to those who eat fish. The purposes of this study were 1) to define the age and/or sex-specific docosahexaenoic plus eicosapentaenoic acids levels in red blood cell membranes (expressed as a percent of total fatty acids; hereafter the omega-3 index) in long-term vegans, and 2) to determine the effects of a vegetarian omega-3 supplement (254 mg docosahexaenoic plus eicosapentaenoic acids/day for 4 months) on the omega-3 index.

METHODS

A sample (n = 165) of vegans was recruited, and their omega-3 index was determined using a dried blood spot methodology. A subset of 46 subjects with a baseline omega-3 index of <4% was given a vegetarian omega-3 supplement for 4 months and then retested.

RESULTS

The mean ± SD omega-3 index was 3.7 ± 1.0% which was similar to that of a cohort of omnivores (deployed US soldiers) from a recently-reported study. Among the vegan cohort, the index was significantly higher in females than males (3.9 ± 1.0% vs. 3.5 ± 1.0%; p = 0.026) and was directly related to age (p for trend = 0.009). The omega-3 index increased from 3.1 ± 0.6% to 4.8 ± 0.8% (p = 0.009) in the supplementation study.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that vegans have low baseline omega-3 levels, but not lower than omnivores who also consume very little docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. The vegans responded robustly to a relatively low dose of a vegetarian omega-3 supplement.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Sarter B
Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of San Diego, CA, USA.
Kelsey KS
Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Schwartz TA
Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Harris WS
Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota and OmegaQuant Analytics, LLC, Sioux Falls, SD, USA. Electronic address: bill@omegaquant.com.

MeSH

AdultAge FactorsDiet, VegetarianDietary FatsDietary SupplementsDocosahexaenoic AcidsEicosapentaenoic AcidErythrocyte MembraneFatty AcidsFatty Acids, Omega-3FemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNutritional StatusSex FactorsTreatment Outcome

Pub Type(s)

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

Language

eng

PubMed ID

24679552

Citation

Sarter, Barbara, et al. "Blood Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid in Vegans: Associations With Age and Gender and Effects of an Algal-derived Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplement." Clinical Nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), vol. 34, no. 2, 2015, pp. 212-8.
Sarter B, Kelsey KS, Schwartz TA, et al. Blood docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in vegans: Associations with age and gender and effects of an algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement. Clin Nutr. 2015;34(2):212-8.
Sarter, B., Kelsey, K. S., Schwartz, T. A., & Harris, W. S. (2015). Blood docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in vegans: Associations with age and gender and effects of an algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement. Clinical Nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), 34(2), 212-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2014.03.003
Sarter B, et al. Blood Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid in Vegans: Associations With Age and Gender and Effects of an Algal-derived Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplement. Clin Nutr. 2015;34(2):212-8. PubMed PMID: 24679552.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Blood docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in vegans: Associations with age and gender and effects of an algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement. AU - Sarter,Barbara, AU - Kelsey,Kristine S, AU - Schwartz,Todd A, AU - Harris,William S, Y1 - 2014/03/14/ PY - 2014/01/17/received PY - 2014/03/04/revised PY - 2014/03/06/accepted PY - 2014/4/1/entrez PY - 2014/4/1/pubmed PY - 2015/12/15/medline KW - Ageing KW - Biomarkers KW - Omega-3 fatty acids KW - Omega-3 index KW - Vegan KW - Vegetarian SP - 212 EP - 8 JF - Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) JO - Clin Nutr VL - 34 IS - 2 N2 - BACKGROUND & AIMS: Several studies have demonstrated that vegetarians and vegans have much lower plasma concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids (i.e., docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids) when compared to those who eat fish. The purposes of this study were 1) to define the age and/or sex-specific docosahexaenoic plus eicosapentaenoic acids levels in red blood cell membranes (expressed as a percent of total fatty acids; hereafter the omega-3 index) in long-term vegans, and 2) to determine the effects of a vegetarian omega-3 supplement (254 mg docosahexaenoic plus eicosapentaenoic acids/day for 4 months) on the omega-3 index. METHODS: A sample (n = 165) of vegans was recruited, and their omega-3 index was determined using a dried blood spot methodology. A subset of 46 subjects with a baseline omega-3 index of <4% was given a vegetarian omega-3 supplement for 4 months and then retested. RESULTS: The mean ± SD omega-3 index was 3.7 ± 1.0% which was similar to that of a cohort of omnivores (deployed US soldiers) from a recently-reported study. Among the vegan cohort, the index was significantly higher in females than males (3.9 ± 1.0% vs. 3.5 ± 1.0%; p = 0.026) and was directly related to age (p for trend = 0.009). The omega-3 index increased from 3.1 ± 0.6% to 4.8 ± 0.8% (p = 0.009) in the supplementation study. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that vegans have low baseline omega-3 levels, but not lower than omnivores who also consume very little docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. The vegans responded robustly to a relatively low dose of a vegetarian omega-3 supplement. SN - 1532-1983 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/24679552/Blood_docosahexaenoic_acid_and_eicosapentaenoic_acid_in_vegans:_Associations_with_age_and_gender_and_effects_of_an_algal_derived_omega_3_fatty_acid_supplement_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -