Association of blood levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids with coronary calcification and calcium density in Japanese men

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Clinical trials of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) among high-risk groups in Japan in which consumption of mairne-omega-3 fatty acids (OM3) is much higher than other countries showed slower progression of coronary atherosclerosis. We aimed to determine the cross-sectional associations of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and calcium density with OM3, EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), two principal OM3, in the general population in Japan. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The Shiga Epidemiological Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis examined a population-based sample of 1,074 men aged 40–79 in 2006–08 for computed-tomography-measured CAC score (CCS), a well-established biomarker of coronary atherosclerosis, CAC density score (CDS), a potential marker of plaque stabilization, serum levels of OM3, and risk factors. RESULTS: Prevalence of CCS >0, ≥100, and ≥300 was 65.8%, 25.9% and 12.9%, respectively; the mean (SD) OM3, EPA and DHA were 10.1% (3.2), 3.2% (1.7), and 5.9% (1.6), respectively. Odds ratios (95% CI, p-value) of CCS 0, 100 and 300 in ordinal logistic regression associated with 1 SD increase of OM3, EPA, and DHA were 0.91 (0.81–1.03, p=0.12), 0.99 (0.88–1.11, p=0.87) and 0.84 (0.74–0.94, p=<0.01), respectively. The inverse association of DHA with CCS remained significant in multivariate-adjusted model: odds ratio of 0.87 (0.77–0.99, p=0.03). Blood levels of OM3, EPA or DHA did not have any significant associations with CDS. CONCLUSIONS: DHA but not EPA had a significant inverse association with coronary atherosclerosis in the general population with high levels of OM3. Future trials are warranted comparing the effect of high-dose DHA and EPA on atherosclerosis and cardiovascular outcomes.