Dietary [alfa]-linolenic acid, marine [omega]-3 fatty acids, and mortality in a population with high fish consumption: findings from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study

Abstract

Epidemiological evidence suggests a cardioprotective role of a-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-derived x-3 fatty acid. It is unclear whether ALA is beneficial in a background of high marine x-3 fatty acids (long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) intake. In persons at high cardiovascular risk from Spain, a country in which fish consumption is customarily high, we investigated whether meeting the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids recommendation for dietary ALA (0.7% of total energy) at baseline was related to all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We also examined the effect of meeting the society’s recommendation for long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (≥500 mg/day).