Dietary and Circulating Long-Chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Mortality Risk After Myocardial Infarction: A Long-Term Follow-Up of the Alpha Omega Cohort.

Background Habitual intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA+DHA) from fish, has been associated with a lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) in population-based studies. Whether that is also the case for patients with CHD is not yet clear. We studied the associations of dietary and circulating EPA+DHA and alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids, with long-term mortality risk after myocardial infarction. Methods and Results We analyzed data from 4067 Dutch patients with prior myocardial infarction aged 60 to 80 years (79% men, 86% on statins) enrolled in the Alpha Omega Cohort from 2002 to 2006 (baseline) and followed through 2018. Baseline intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids were assessed through a validated 203-item food frequency questionnaire and circulating omega-3 fatty acids were assessed in plasma cholesteryl esters. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were obtained from Cox regression analyses. During a median follow-up period of 12 years, 1877 deaths occurred, of which 515 were from CHD and 834 from cardiovascular diseases. Dietary intake of EPA+DHA was significantly inversely associated with only CHD mortality (HR, 0.69 [0.52-0.90] for >200 versus ≤50 mg/d; HR, 0.92 [0.86-0.98] per 100 mg/d). Similar results were obtained for fish consumption (HRCHD, 0.74 [0.53-1.03] for >40 versus ≤5 g/d; Ptrend: 0.031). Circulating EPA+DHA was inversely associated with CHD mortality (HR, 0.71 [0.53-0.94] for >2.52% versus ≤1.29%; 0.85 [0.77-0.95] per 1-SD) and also with cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. Dietary and circulating alpha-linolenic acid were not significantly associated with mortality end points. Conclusions In a cohort of Dutch patients with prior myocardial infarction, higher dietary and circulating EPA+DHA and fish intake were consistently associated with a lower CHD mortality risk. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03192410.

Plasma fatty acids and kidney function decline in post-myocardial infarction patients of the Alpha Omega Cohort.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Age-related kidney function decline is accelerated in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD and chronic kidney disease may share common etiologies. We examined plasma fatty acids (FAs) as novel biomarkers of kidney function decline after myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS AND RESULTS: The analysis included 2329 Dutch post-MI patients aged 60-80y (Alpha Omega Cohort) most receiving state-of-the-art medications. Plasma FAs (% total FAs) in cholesteryl esters were assessed at baseline (2002-2006), and ∼40 months change in creatinine-cystatin C based glomerular filtration rate was estimated (eGFR, in ml/min per 1.73 m2). Beta coefficients for annual eGFR change in relation to plasma linoleic acid (LA; 50.1% of total FAs in CE), omega-3 FAs (EPA + DHA; 1.7%), odd-chain FAs (C15:0 and C17:0; 0.2%), and C14:0 (0.7%) were obtained from linear regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, smoking, and alcohol intake. Mean baseline eGFR ±SD was 78.5 ± 18.7, which declined by 4.7 ± 13.1 during follow-up, or 1.4 ± 3.9 per year. The annual decline in eGFR was less in patients with higher plasma LA (adjusted beta: 0.40 for LA >47 vs ≤ 47%, 95% CI: 0.01; 0.78; p = 0.046). Associations of plasma LA with annual eGFR decline were stronger in 437 patients with diabetes (1.21, 0.24; 2.19) and in 402 patients with CKD (eGFR<60; 0.90, -0.09; 1.89). Weaker, non-significant associations with kidney function decline were observed for the other plasma FAs. CONCLUSION: Higher plasma LA may be a good predictor of less kidney function decline after MI, particularly in patients with diabetes. The Alpha Omega Cohort is registered with clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03192410.