16 Aug Rheumatoid Arthritis: Omega Fatty Acids from Fish Lowered Risk

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniela Di Giuseppe
Division of Nutritional Epidemiology
Institute of Environmental Medicine
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm 171 77, Sweden

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Answer: Women whose long-term intake of omega 3 PUFAs exceeded 0.21 g a day, equivalent to at least one serving of fatty fish or four servings of lean fish a week, had half the risk (52% lower) of rheumatoid arthritis of women who consumed less.

MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?

Answer: We expected this finding since previous studies showed an inverse association between fish consumption and rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, the antinflammatory properties of omega3 suggested its role in the protection against RA.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Answer: Consumption of fish could be advised to decrease the risk of RA and also other diseases (cardiovascular diseases etc.)

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Answer: In this study we did not have data to evaluate the consumption of fish oil supplements. Therefore, future research should focus on evaluate if the consumption of fish oil supplements is protective against RA as it is the omega3 intake from diet.

Citation:

Long-term intake of dietary long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective cohort study of women

Daniela Di Giuseppe, Alice Wallin,  Matteo Bottai, Johan Askling, Alicja Wolk

Ann Rheum Dis annrheumdis-2013-203338Published Online First: 12 August 2013 doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-203338

Last Updated on August 16, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD