Very low Omega-3 Index in young healthy students from Palestine

verfasst von

Feras Almasri, Manal Badrasawi, Rana Zahdeh, Andreas Hahn, Jan Philipp Schuchardt, Theresa Greupner

Abstract

Oily fish is rich in long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which have been associated with several health benefits. However, fish consumption is generally low in many countries, including the Middle East, resulting in low omega-3 blood levels. In Palestine, no data on the omega-3 blood status is available. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the omega-3 status and related factors in young healthy subjects from Palestine. Omega-3 status was assessed using the Omega-3 Index-defined as the sum of EPA + DHA in relation to the total fatty acid content of erythrocytes. A total of 149 subjects, 50 males and 99 females (age range: 18-24 years), were included in the study. In addition to the Omega-3 Index, data on anthropometrics, physical activity, smoking status, fish intake, dietary supplement intake, blood lipid profile, and whole erythrocyte fatty acid pattern were collected. The mean (SD) Omega-3 Index was 2.56 (0.57)%, with 97.9% of subjects having an index below 4%. The majority of participants (91.8%) consumed less than two portions of fish per week, and only 4% reported taking omega-3 supplements, mostly irregularly. Our findings show that young Palestinian students have an alarmingly low omega-3 status. Further studies are needed to investigate whether the omega-3 status is also low in the general Palestinian population.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Lebensmittelwissenschaft und Humanernährung
Abteilung Ernährungsphysiologie und Humanernährung

Externe Organisation(en)

An-Najah National University
Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU)

Typ

Artikel

Journal

LIPIDS

Band

58

Seiten

209-216

Anzahl der Seiten

8

ISSN

0024-4201

Publikationsdatum

10.09.2023

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Biochemie, Zellbiologie, Organische Chemie

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1002/lipd.12375 (Zugang: Offen)