Fish Oil Lowers Heart Disease Risk for Diabetics

Having diabetes—or even prediabetes—doubles your risk of developing heart disease. However, a recent large study found a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among diabetics and prediabetics who consumed fish oil compared with nonusers. The findings were published on July 17, 2023, in Nutrients.¹

The subjects—22,146 diabetics and 47,663 prediabetics enrolled in UK Biobank, a health and genetic information database derived from half a million people in the UK—were followed for a median of 11.6 years. Prediabetics who reported using fish oil had a 9% lower risk of developing CHD, while diabetics’ risk dropped by 13%.

“We identified an inverse relationship between fish oil use and CHD incidence, which was significantly mediated by serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in individuals with prediabetes and by very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) in patients with diabetes,” authors Xiaohui Liu and colleagues reported. C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Prediabetes was defined as having a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a marker of long-term glucose control, level of 5.7% to 6.4% and diabetes as an HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher, among other criteria.

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Apply What You’ve Learned: Fish Oil

The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are found in oily fish such as anchovies, cod, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout and tuna.³
Fish oil has been consumed for decades in the form of cod liver oil, a source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and vitamins A and D. Cod liver oil was often given to children due to the protective effect of its vitamin D content against rickets. However, its fishy taste has prevented many individuals from using it.²
Encapsulated omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) derived from fish oil can be prepared in a way that largely avoids the problem of objectionable taste, but these purified capsules do not contain vitamins A and D, which many people obtain from their multivitamin or elsewhere.
Research findings indicate that omega-3 fatty acids support healthy blood vessel function, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels, triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c (a marker of long-term glucose control), mood and brain function.^4-7

References

Liu X et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jul 17;15(14):3176.
Miller WL et al. Horm Res Paediatr. 2022;95(6):579-592.
American Heart Association editorial staff. American Heart Association. 2021 https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/fish-and-omega-3-fatty-acids
Tousoulis D et al. Atherosclerosis. 2014 Jan;232(1):10-6.
Miller PE et al. Am J Hypertens. 2014;27(7):885-96.
Bae JH et al. Nutr Res. 2018 Feb;50:1-9.
Nutrients. 2018 Aug 15;10(8):1094.

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