Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels and dysregulations in biological stress systems

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018-11, Vol.97, p.206-215
• Main Authors: Thesing, Carisha S., Bot, Mariska, Milaneschi, Yuri, Giltay, Erik J., Penninx, Brenda W.J.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Autonomic nervous system; Autonomic Nervous System - metabolism; Biological stress; Biomarkers - blood; C-Reactive Protein; Docosahexaenoic Acids - analysis; Docosahexaenoic Acids - blood; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - analysis; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - blood; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated - metabolism; Female; Heart Rate; HPA-axis; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - metabolism; Immune System - metabolism; Inflammation; Inflammation - metabolism; Interleukin-6; Male; Middle Aged; Netherlands; Omega-3; Pituitary-Adrenal System - metabolism; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia; Stress, Physiological - physiology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.002

•Inflammatory dysregulation was associated with lower n-3 PUFA plasma levels.•HPA-axis dysregulation was associated with lower n-3 PUFA plasma levels.•ANS dysregulation was less consistently associated with n-3 PUFA plasma levels.•Accumulated biological stress was associated with lower n-3 PUFA plasma levels. Studies have shown that omega-3 (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), might have beneficial effects on somatic and mental health, potentially partly due to their mitigating effects on three major biological stress systems: the immune-inflammatory system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis (HPA-axis) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). To examine the association between (cumulative measures of) markers of three biological stress systems and n-3 PUFA and DHA plasma levels. Plasma n-3 PUFA and DHA were measured using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in 2724 participants from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. Linear regression analyses (adjusted for sociodemographic, sampling, lifestyle and somatic disease variables) associated inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha), HPA-axis (cortisol awakening response and evening cortisol) and ANS (heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia and pre-ejection period) markers and cumulative indices within and across stress systems as independent variables with n-3 PUFA and DHA levels as dependent variables. Participants had a mean age of 41.8 (SD = 13.1) and 65.7% were female. Higher levels of all three inflammation markers (Beta=−.146 to −.073, all p-values