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Lipids and cardiovascular/metabolic health

Significant inverse association of marine n-3 fatty acids with plasma fibrinogen levels in Japanese in Japan but not in whites or Japanese Americans

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 329–335 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Numerous studies reported beneficial effects of marine n-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. However, the association of marine n-3 FAs with plasma fibrinogen, a risk factor for CVD, remains uncertain.

Subjects/Methods:

In a population-based, cross-sectional study of 795 men aged 40–49 without CVD (262 whites in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, 302 Japanese in Kusatsu, Japan and 229 Japanese Americans in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA), we examined the association of marine n-3 FAs with plasma fibrinogen. Serum FAs were measured by capillary gas–liquid chromatography. Marine n-3 FAs were defined as the sum of docosahexaenoic, eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acids. Plasma fibrinogen was measured by an automated clot-rate assay. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association.

Results:

White, Japanese and Japanese-American men had mean marine n-3 FAs levels of 3.47%, 8.78% and 4.46%, respectively. Japanese men had a significant inverse association of marine n-3 FAs with fibrinogen (standardized regression coefficient of −0.11, P=0.049), after adjusting for age, body-mass index and current smoking. The significant inverse association remained after further adjusting for diabetes, C-reactive protein, triglycerides and other variables. White or Japanese-American men did not show a significant association.

Conclusions:

We observed the significant inverse association of marine n-3 FAs with fibrinogen in Japanese, but not in whites or Japanese Americans. The observation suggests that marine n-3 FAs at very high levels, as seen in the Japanese, may decrease plasma fibrinogen levels.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Grants R01 HL68200 and HL071561 from the National Institutes of Health, B 16790335 and A 13307016 from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    L J Hassen, J Choo, S Lee, T Kadowaki, R W Evans, K Sutton-Tyrrell, A El-Saed, L H Kuller & A Sekikawa

  2. Department of Health Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan

    H Ueshima, T Kadowaki, A Fujiyoshi, A Kadota, K Miura & A Sekikawa

  3. John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    J D Curb & K Masaki

  4. Department of Community Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea

    J Choo

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Medical Center Ansan Hospital, Ansan, , South Korea

    C Shin

  6. Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, HI, USA

    T B Seto & B J Willcox

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  1. L J Hassen
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Hassen, L., Ueshima, H., Curb, J. et al. Significant inverse association of marine n-3 fatty acids with plasma fibrinogen levels in Japanese in Japan but not in whites or Japanese Americans. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 329–335 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.155

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