High Concentrations of Plasma n3 Fatty Acids Are Associated with Decreased Risk for Late Age-Related Macular Degeneration

High dietary intakes of n3 (omega 3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and fish have been consistently associated with a decreased risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We assessed the associations of late AMD with plasma n3 PUFA, a nutritional biomarker of n3 PUPA status. The Antioxydants Lipides Essentiels Nutrition et Maladies Occulaires (Alienor) Study is a prospective, population-based study on nutrition and age-related eye diseases performed in 963 residents of Bordeaux (France) aged >= 73 y. Participants had a first eye examination in 2006-2008 and were followed for 31 mo on average. Plasma fatty acids were measured by GC from fasting blood samples collected in 1999-2001. AMD was graded from non-mydriatic color retinal photographs at all examinations and spectral domain optical coherence tomography at follow-up. After adjustment for age, gender, smoking, education, physical activity, plasma HDL-cholesterol, plasma triglycerides, CFH Y402H, apoE4, and ARMS2 A69S polymorphisms, and follow-up time, high plasma total n3 PUFA was associated with a reduced risk for late AMD [OR = 0.62 for 1-SD increase (95% Cl: 0.44-0.88); P = 0.008]. Associations were similar for plasma 18:3n3 [OR = 0.62 (95% Cl: 0.43-0.88); P = 0.008] and n3 long-chain PUFA [OR = 0.65 (95% Cl: 0.46-0.92); P=0.01]. This study gives further support to the potential role of n3 PUFAs in the prevention of late AM D and highlights the necessity of randomized clinical trials to determine more accurately the value of n3 PUFAs as a means of reducing AMD incidence. J. Nutr. 143: 505-511, 2013.