Positive Health Online

Abstract

REINER and COLLEAGUES, (1)Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.; (2)Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital of Baden, 5404 Baden, Switzerland.; (3)Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel, University Hospital Basel, 3010 Basel, Switzerland.;(4)Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.;(5)Cardiovascular Research Institute Basel, University Hospital Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.;(6)Center for Molecular Cardiology, Laboratory for Platelet Research, University of Zurich, 8952 Zurich, Switzerland.; (7)Department of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.;(8)Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.;(9)Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.;(10)Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.;(11)Division of Cardiology, Ospedale Regionale di Lugano, 6900 Ticino, Switzerland.;(12)Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8L 2X2, Canada examined the association of n-3 FAs with D-dimer and beta-thromboglobulin (BTG), markers for activated coagulation and platelets.

Background

Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) are associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Antithrombotic mechanisms may in part explain this observation.

Methodology

Therefore, we examined the association of n-3 FAs with D-dimer and beta-thromboglobulin (BTG), markers for activated coagulation and platelets, respectively. The n-3 FAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) were determined via gas chromatography in the whole blood of 2373 patients with AF from the Swiss Atrial Fibrillation cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02105844). In a cross-sectional analysis, we examined the association of total n-3 FAs (EPA + DHA + DPA + ALA) and the association of individual fatty acids with D-dimer in patients with detectable D-dimer values (n = 1096) as well as with BTG (n = 2371) using multiple linear regression models adjusted for confounders.

Results

Median D-dimer and BTG levels were 0.340 ug/mL and 448 ng/mL, respectively. Higher total n-3 FAs correlated with lower D-dimer levels (coefficient 0.94, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.90-0.98, p = 0.004) and lower BTG levels (coefficient 0.97, Cl 0.95-0.99, p = 0.003). Likewise, the individual n-3 FAs EPA, DHA, DPA and ALA showed an inverse association with D-dimer. Higher levels of DHA, DPA and ALA correlated with lower BTG levels, whereas EPA showed a positive association with BTG. In patients with AF, higher levels of n-3 FAs were associated with lower levels of D-dimer and BTG, markers for activated coagulation and platelets, respectively.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that n-3 FAs may exert antithrombotic properties in patients with AF. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. S.A: Speaker fee from Roche Diagnostics. D.C.: consultation fees from Roche Diagnostics and Trimedics; speaker fees from Servier and BMS/Pfizer. J.H.B.: Grant support or speakers fee from Bayer, Astra Zeneca, Daiichi Sankyo and Sanofi. The remaining authors have nothing to declare.

References

Reiner MF(1), Bertschi DA(2), Werlen L(3), Wiencierz A(3), Aeschbacher S(4)(5),

Lee P(6), Rodondi N(7)(8), Moutzouri E(8), Bonati L(9), Reichlin T(10),

Moschovitis G(11), Rutishauser J(2)(6), Kühne M(4)(5), Osswald S(4)(5), Conen

D(12), Beer JH(2)(6). Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Markers of Thrombosis in Patients with Atrial  Fibrillation.  Nutrients.  16(2):178.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16020178. Jan 5; 2024.