Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Protect From COVID-19

Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, may be protective against getting COVID-19 infection and/or suffering negative effects.

Highlights:

COVID-19 disease severity is known to be affected by demographic and physiological factors such as age, comorbidities, and obesity
Minerals such as zinc, dietary bioactive, and vitamins C and D have been linked to a reduced risk of symptomatic and severe COVID-19
Higher n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption protects against COVID-19 infection. EPA and DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFAs of marine origin, may be particularly protective against COVID-19

The impact of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, and whether they might be protective against getting COVID-19 infection and/or suffering negative results was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The researchers examined the probability of three COVID-19 outcomes as a function of baseline plasma DHA levels: 1-testing positive, 2-hospitalisation, and 3-death.

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‘Nutritional methods to raise circulation n-3 PUFA levels, such as increased eating of oily fish and/or usage of n-3 fatty acid supplements, may minimize the risk of COVID-19-related complications.’

Omega-3 Levels Linked with COVID-19

DHA levels (% of total fatty acids) were assessed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, but for this research, they were transformed to Omega-3 Index (red blood cell EPA+DHA%). In the UK Biobank prospective cohort project, the three outcomes and relevant covariates were available for 110,584 subjects (hospitalization and mortality) and 26,595 ever-tested subjects (positive COVID-19 PCR test result). The outcomes of COVID-19 were evaluated between January 2020 and March 2021.

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High Levels of Omega-3 Lowers the Risk of COVID-19

Those in quintile 5 (with the highest Omega-3 Index values) were 21% less likely to test positive than those in quintile 1, and the probability of testing positive was 8% lower for each 1-SD (standard deviation) rise in plasma DHA%. Quintile 5 individuals were also 26% less likely to be hospitalized than quintile 1, with the risk of hospitalization decreasing by 11% for every 1-SD increase in DHA%.

The risk of death from COVID-19 was monotonically decreased through quintile 4, but it was partially attenuated and became non-significant in quintile 5. Estimated Omega-3 Index values ranged from 3.5% (quintile 1) to 8% (quintile 5) across the five DHA quintiles.

“These values comport well with the Omega-3 Index risk cut points [originally proposed in 2004 for death from the cardiovascular disease] of <4% (high risk) and >8% (low risk) and imply that these target levels apply to COVID-19 outcomes as well,” researchers noted in their paper.

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Why South Korea and Japan have Reported the Lowest Rate of COVID-19?

The researchers also note that South Korea and Japan have reported extremely low severity of COVID-19 disease and that while masking practices, social distancing policies, and other population-wide interventions are likely to have contributed to this, it is worth noting that the Omega-3 Index values of healthy South Korean and Japanese individuals are approximately 8-12% and 7-11%, respectively, which is significantly higher than the Omega-3 Index of 4-5% in Western populations.

“A worldwide pattern linking higher omega-3 fatty acid intakes with lower rates of death with COVID-19 was documented by Vivar-Sierra et al. Although only suggestive, this observation adds further support for a potential role of omega-3s EPA and DHA in the prevention of fatal COVID-19 disease,” the researchers said.

“This study confirms previous findings that low omega-3 status is associated with increased risk for hospitalization with COVID-19. We extended these findings by also showing reduced risk for testing positive with the infection and by providing evidence that the risk for death may also be reduced,” said Dr. William S. Harris, PhD, FASN, President, Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI). “Furthermore, we identified the Omega-3 Index levels associated with the least (<4%) and greatest (>8%) protection from COVID-19. Altogether these results support the practice of increasing consumption of oily fish like salmon or omega-3 fish oil supplements as a potential risk reduction strategy when it comes to COVID-19.”

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Health Benefits of Omega-3 Consumption

According to Dr. Philip Calder, who wrote an accompanying editorial, these findings suggest that increased consumption of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) should be encouraged as a strategy to reduce the impact of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and future respiratory virus infection outbreaks. Dr. Calder, BSc(Hons), Ph.D., DPhil, RNutr, FSB, FAfN, is a Professor of Nutritional Immunology at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

Source-Medindia