Blackmores Institute

Researchers from the University of Newcastle pooled participants from seven previous studies with asthma (n = 255) and without (n = 137) asthma the researchers found that while omega-3 index (O3I) did not differ between subjects with and without asthma, when comparing within the asthma group alone subjects with partially controlled or well controlled asthma had a significantly higher O3I compared to those with uncontrolled asthma.
 
 “When analysing clinical asthma measures, there was no significant difference in lung function or asthma severity in subjects with a higher (≥8 %) versus lower (&lt; 8%) O3I. However, subjects with O3I had a significantly lower range of maintenance inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) dose (beclomethasone equivalents),” the authors added.
 
 “In particular, the relationship between omega-3s and medication use would be of great interest for future research, given our results. Our findings suggest that achieving an O3I ≥ 8% could be a beneficial target for people with asthma in order to reduce maintenance ICS dose. Nutritionally, to achieve this O3I, it would equate to consuming ≥800 mg EPA and DHA per day, or 4–5 serves of mostly oily fish per week”
 
 “Due to the interesting nexus of asthma and obesity, we compared clinical asthma markers and systemic inflammation in subjects with asthma divided into obese (BMI ≥30kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI &lt;30kg.m2) groups with high (≥8%) and low (&lt;8%) O3I. We found that subjects who were obese with lower O3I had a significantly higher range of maintenance ICS medication dose compared with obese subjects with a higher O3I (p=0.0002).”
 
 The authors claimed that the study findings are supported by a cross-sectional study conducted in 2011 which observed a significant positive relationship between EPA and DHA consumption with asthma control and lung function, suggesting that their study reinforces this finding by providing stronger evidence for this relationship.
 
 “Interestingly, we did not find any differences in systemic inflammatory markers between asthmatics with lower and higher O3I, after adjusting for age, gender and BMI. This has been confirmed in other studies investigating the association between omega-3 and inflammatory markers in asthma. However, other studies have found positive effects of omgra-3s on systemic inflammatory markers in asthma.”
 
 The study concluded that omega-3s may have a role in asthma management and that intervention studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
 
 “We have shown that a higher O3I is associated with better asthma control, lower inhaled corticosteroid medication dose and lower systemic inflammatory markers, suggesting that omega-3s may have a role in asthma management,” the authors concluded.
 
 Source: 
 Nutrients 2020. DOI:<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/74">10.3390/nu12010074</a>

Having a higher omega-3 index may be associated with better asthma control and lower inhaled corticosteroid medication dose, according to a new Australian study

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