(27-05-14) Serum Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes in Men:

Serum Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes in Men: The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study

Jyrki K Virtanen, PhD1,
Jaakko Mursu, PhD1,
Sari Voutilainen, PhD1,
Matti Uusitupa, MD, PhD1,2 and
Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, MD, PhD1

+ Author Affiliations

1From the University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Public Health and
Clinical Nutrition, Kuopio, Finland;


2Research Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.

Corresponding author: Jyrki K Virtanen, E-mail: [email protected]


Abstract


Objective The relationship between fish or omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFA) and type 2 diabetes is inconclusive. Even contaminants in fish, such as
mercury, may modify the effects. We investigated the associations between serum
omega-3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA),
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), hair mercury and
risk of incident type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and older Finnish men.


Research Design and Methods A total of 2212 men from the prospective,
population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor study, aged 42-60
years and free of type 2 diabetes at baseline in 1984-1989, were investigated.
Serum PUFA and hair mercury were used as biomarkers for exposure. Dietary
intakes were assessed with 4-day food recording. Type 2 diabetes was assessed
by self-administered questionnaires, fasting and 2-h oral glucose tolerance
test blood glucose measurement at re-examination rounds 4, 11 and 20 years
after the baseline, and by record linkage to hospital discharge registry and
reimbursement register on diabetes medication expenses. Cox proportional
hazards models were used to analyze associations.


Results During the average follow-up of 19.3 years, 422 men developed type 2
diabetes. Men in the highest vs. the lowest serum EPA+DPA+DHA quartile had 33%
lower multivariate-adjusted risk for type 2 diabetes (95% CI 13-49%, P-trend
0.01). No statistically significant associations were observed with serum or
dietary ALA, dietary fish or EPA+DHA, or hair mercury.


Conclusions Serum long-chain omega-3 PUFA concentration, an objective
biomarker for fish intake, was associated with long-term lower risk of type 2
diabetes.


Source: Received June 26, 2013.
Accepted August 30, 2013.
© 2013 by the American Diabetes Association.


Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is
educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http:
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.

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