Intake of Marine-Derived Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Mortality in Renal Transplant Recipients

• Published in: Nutrients 2017-04, Vol.9 (4), p.363
• Main Authors: Gomes Neto, António W, Sotomayor, Camilo G, Pranger, Ilse G, van den Berg, Else, Gans, Rijk O B, Soedamah-Muthu, Sabita S, Navis, Gerjan J, Bakker, Stephan J L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; All-cause mortality; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular mortality; Confidence intervals; Docosahexaenoic acid; Docosahexaenoic Acids - administration & dosage; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - administration & dosage; Fatty acids; Female; Food; Geriatrics; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Kidney Diseases - mortality; Kidney Diseases - surgery; Kidney Transplantation - mortality; Linear Models; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Nutrition Assessment; Older people; Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Renal transplant recipients; Risk; Risk Factors; Seafood; Smoking; Subgroups
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu9040363

The effect of marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( -3 PUFA) on long-term outcome in renal transplant recipients (RTR) remains unclear. We investigated whether marine-derived -3 PUFA intake is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in RTR. Intake of eicosapentaenoic acid plus docosahexaenoic acid (EPA-DHA) was assessed using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations of EPA-DHA intake with all-cause and CV mortality. We included 627 RTR (age 53 ± 13 years). EPA-DHA intake was 102 (42-215) mg/day. During median follow-up of 5.4 years, 130 (21%) RTR died, with 52 (8.3%) due to CV causes. EPA-DHA intake was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.85; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.75-0.97). Age ( 0.03) and smoking status ( = 0.01) significantly modified this association, with lower risk of all-cause and CV mortality particularly in older (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.61-0.92; HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.95) and non-smoking RTR (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.93; HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.98). In conclusion, marine-derived -3 PUFA intake is inversely associated with risk of all-cause and CV mortality in RTR. The strongest associations were present in subgroups of patients, which adds further evidence to the plea for EPA-DHA supplementation, particularly in elderly and non-smoking RTR.