EPA and DHA Status of South Asian and White Canadians Living in the National Capital Region of Canada

• Published in: Lipids Vol. 49; no. 10; pp. 1057 - 1069
• Main Authors: Nagasaka, Reiko, Gagnon, Claude, Swist, Eleonora, Rondeau, Isabelle, Massarelli, Isabelle, Cheung, Winnie, Ratnayake, Walisundera M. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-10-2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Animals; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Biomarkers - blood; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; DHA; Diet; Docosahexaenoic Acids - administration & dosage; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - administration & dosage; EPA; Erythrocytes - metabolism; European Continental Ancestry Group; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - blood; Female; Fish consumption; Fishes; Health risks; Humans; Life Sciences; Lipidology; Male; Medical Biochemistry; Medicinal Chemistry; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Middle Aged; Neurochemistry; Nutrition; Nutritional Requirements; Omega 3 index; Ontario; Original Article; RBC fatty acid composition; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Risk reduction; South Asian Canadians; White Canadians; Young Adult; Ontario; South Asian Canadians; Omega 3 index; EPA; Fish consumption; White Canadians; DHA; RBC fatty acid composition
• ISSN: 0024-4201; 1558-9307
• DOI: 10.1007/s11745-014-3942-3

To minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), most dietary guidelines have recommended consuming 500 mg/day of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or two servings of oily fish/week. The sum of percent EPA and DHA in red blood cell (RBC) total fatty acids-termed the omega-3 index-has been proposed as a biomarker for assessing the risk of death from CVD. The omega-3 indices of ≤4, >4 to <8 and ≥8 % have been proposed to be associated with high, intermediate and low CVD risks, respectively. In this study, we determined the EPA + DHA intake level and the omega-3 index of South Asian Canadians (SAC;
n
 = 308) and white Canadians (WC;
n
 = 341) age 20–79 years living in the National Capital Region of Canada. The mean EPA + DHA intake levels were 569 ± 571 mg/day for SAC and 684 ± 865 mg/day for WC and 46 % of SAC and 43 % of WC met the recommended EPA + DHA intake level of 500 mg/day. The mean omega-3 indices were 6.6 and 5.9 % for SAC and WC respectively. The suggested cardio-protective target level for the omega-3 index of ≥8 % was observed only in 19.8 % of SAC and in 9.4 % of WC subjects. The majority of the participants (74.4 % of SAC and 82.7 % of WC) were in the >4 to <8 % range. These results suggest that although study participants’ dietary intake of EPA + DHA is adequate, this intake was not sufficient to provide an omega-3 index that is considered cardio-protective.