Higher levels of omega-3 in the blood may reduce the risk of dying from the coronavirus infection, according to the study conducted by the researchers at the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) and collaborators at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and in Orange County, CA.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids.
For the study, the researchers involved 100 hospitalised COVID-19 positive patients and accessed their blood samples. Clinical outcomes for these patients were obtained and blood was analysed for the Omega-3 Index (O3I, red blood cell membrane EPA+DHA levels) at OmegaQuant Analytics (Sioux Falls, SD). Fourteen of the patients died during the examination.
The 100 patients were grouped into four quartiles, according to their O3I, with 25 per cent of the patients in each quartile. There was one death in the top quartile, with 13 deaths in the remaining patients.
In age-and-sex adjusted regression analyses, those in the highest quartile were 75 per cent less likely to die compared with those in the lower three quartiles. Notably, the relative risk for death was about four times higher in those with a lower O3I compared to those with higher levels.
Lead author Arash Asher, MD, said: “While not meeting standard statistical significance thresholds, this pilot study — along with multiple lines of evidence regarding the anti-inflammatory effects of EPA and DHA — strongly suggests that these nutritionally available marine fatty acids may help reduce the risk for adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Larger studies are clearly needed to confirm these preliminary findings.”
The team is now seeking funding to expand their study and employ larger cohorts.