Omega-3s could prevent rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis: it can be prevented by taking fish oil supplements
Women who eat a diet rich in fish containing Omega three are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, compared with those who consume small amounts. In fact, it would appear that daily intake of more than 0.21 grams of Omega-3, can reduce the risk of being affected by the disease by 35 percent.
This was revealed in research conducted at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases . This study is the first to attribute the protective action of fish against the disease to its Omega-3 content.
What is rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune, disabling disease that causes joint inflammation and deformity. Those affected also show a high risk of being affected by heart disease, leukemia, infections, and suffering from anxiety and depression. According to the American College of Rheumatology, between 0.5 and 1 percent of the U.S. population is affected by rheumatoid arthritis. In Italy it affects about 0.5 percent of the adult population.Women are 2-3 times more likely than men to develop the disease, which commonly originates around age 60. Precisely because of the nature of arthritis, it is important to control symptoms by maintaining an adequate body weight and following a proper diet, low in fat and rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods. In particular, previous studies have shown an association between high fish consumption and low likelihood of developing arthritis.
Fish reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis
During the study, the researchers followed 32,232 women, born between 1914 and 1948, who had participated in a Swedish cohort study (Swedish Mammography Cohort). Information on the type of diet followed, and thus fish intake, was collected through questionnaires sent to women in 1987 and 1997. National Registries, on the other hand, were used to identify cases of rheumatoid arthritis, arising between 2003 and 2010, which turned out to be 205. The researchers divided the participants into 5 groups based on the amount of Omega-3 intake from fish, ranging from 0.21 (or less) to 0.5 grams per day. Daily intake of 0.21 grams of Omega-3 is equivalent to consuming about one serving per week of salmon or other fatty fish, or 4 servings per week of lean fish such as cod.
Results showed that consumption of amounts greater than 0.21 grams of Omega-3, reduced the risk of developing the condition by 35 percent, compared to consumption of smaller amounts.Long-term intake of doses consistently higher than 0.21 grams, on the other hand, was associated with a 52 percent reduction in the likelihood of developing arthritis. In addition, in women who consumed a serving of any type of fish for long periods, at least once a week, the risk of arthritis was reduced by 29 percent, compared with those who consumed less frequently. According to the researchers, however, above 0.35 grams per day, the benefits of Omega-3s could diminish, in agreement with other studies that have identified a sort of "threshold value," and with the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which recommend eating at least two servings of fish per week.
Omega-3s play a role in the etiology of disease
The study confirms that moderate fish consumption is sufficient to reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. The link between seafood intake and reduced risk of the disease thus appears to be due to Omega-3s. Essi in fact give rise to the synthesis of molecules, the anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, which by different mechanisms inhibit processes typical of inflammation.
Saturated fatty acids, on the other hand, contained in meat, for example, promote the production of a type of eicosanoids that stimulate the onset of inflammation. In any case, both genes and lifestyle play a decisive role in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, in fact, in addition to diet, cigarette smoking and poor oral hygiene can also promote the disease. So this study supports the 'hypothesis, strongly considered by rheumatologists, that rheumatoid arthritis could be prevented for some individuals. To stay up to date with the latest news from Omega-3 scientific research.
Source: Daniela Di Giuseppe, Alice Wallin, Matteo Bottai, Johan Askling, Alicja Wolk "Long-term intake of dietary long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective cohort study of women" Ann Rheum Dis doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-203338
