Lung Health

Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Healthy Lungs

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Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Healthy Lungs
Omega-rich food may be able to prevent age-related decline in lung function, according to a large study of 15,000 Americans. (Shutterstock)
Amy Denney
8/12/2023
Updated:
8/12/2023
0:00

The anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are well known, but a new study finds that they could preserve lung function as we age.

Published in June in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the study looked at levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood of more than 15,000 Americans and found that higher levels were associated with a slower rate of age-related lung function decline.

The researchers observed the strongest associations for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid that’s found at high levels in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines. DHA is also available as a dietary supplement.

The data offers the strongest evidence yet that omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent lung disease, study author Bonnie K. Patchen told The Epoch Times. She’s a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University with a doctorate in nutritional sciences.

About the Study

Study participants were generally healthy when the study began, with most having no evidence of chronic lung disease. The racially diverse group had an average age of 56. The researchers followed participants for an average of seven years.

“Our study was unique in a number of ways,” Ms. Patchen said. “One, a lot of the previous work has been cross-sectional, as in looking at individuals at one point in time. What we did was look at it over time, for up to 20 years and saw that omega-3s were predictive for how lung function changes. It helps to get at that cause and effect relationship.”

The study provides the impetus for a future causal study that would provide an omega-3 intervention and measure how that changes the outcome. This study examined existing evidence.

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However, it’s part of an ongoing project collaborating with the COPDGene study. The follow-up research will examine blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids in relation to the rate of decline in lung function among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—including heavy smokers—to determine if the same beneficial associations are found, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) statement.
The observational component of this study looked at data from about 15,063 Americans from the NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study—a large collection of NIH-funded studies that exists to help researchers who want to examine personalized risk for chronic lung disease.
The second component of the study involved researchers analyzing genetic data from a large study involving more than 500,000 European patients. Those results also showed that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA, were associated with better lung function.

Prevention May Be the Best Hope

While eating fatty acids may help prevent lung issues, they don’t appear to cure lung dysfunction after the fact. In fact, evidence on fatty acids used as an intervention for severe lung dysfunction appears to show the opposite effect, potentially causing more harm than good.
A 2011 JAMA study using intravenous omega-3 fatty acids on critically ill patients was halted because of higher mortality rates among those receiving the treatment.
A 2019 meta-analysis in Nutrition also found no benefit for critically ill patients, except for some low-quality studies showing a possible benefit for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Such evidence bolsters the argument that using omega-3 fatty acids to prevent disease is more promising than using them to treat disease and improve health outcomes.

It also underscores the need for improved education on the role diet plays in disease pathology, as most Americans already fall short of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary recommendation that people eat at least two servings of fish per week. In addition to fish and fish oil, other sources of omega-3 fatty acids include nuts and seeds such as flax seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
“Food is a very powerful tool that could be leveraged in many ways throughout life,” Ms. Patchen said. “I’m also a registered dietitian, and I believe in the power of food both for health and preventing disease. On a personal note, I have celiac disease, so I’ve seen firsthand the power of eating a diet that’s suitable for you, versus not, can have on health.”

The Value of Anti-Inflammatories

The anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fatty acids has spurred significant research into how diet can affect diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

“We know largely from studies on smoking that inflammation caused by smoking or other environmental exposures, such as pollution, has a large impact on lung health and lung disease,” Ms. Patchen said.

Because omega-3s have an anti-inflammatory function, Ms. Patchen says there’s a plausible biological link between eating more omega-3s and facing a lower risk of these diseases.

Inflammation is involved in the pathology of most every pulmonary disease including pneumonia, asthma, COPD, and even in bacterial and viral infections.

Inflammation is a complicated but essential biological function that instigates many mechanisms to defend the body against pathogens and repair tissue. However, when inflammation is prolonged, it can deplete the body and contribute to other diseases. Ideally, inflammation is a healthy response to infection-causing pathogens, physical trauma, and sensitivity to toxins, pollutants, irritants, and allergens.

As explained in the Journal of Inflammation Research, cells and molecules are orchestrated to instigate inflammation, which is seen in acute situations such as pneumonia and ARDS, as well as chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma and COPD.

“Because the lung is a vital organ for gas exchange, excessive inflammation can be life threatening. Because the lung is constantly exposed to harmful pathogens, an immediate and intense defense action (mainly inflammation) is required to eliminate the invaders as early as possible. A delicate balance between inflammation and anti-inflammation is essential for lung homeostasis,” the journal reads.

Anti-inflammatory mediators such as omega-3s are believed to exert protective actions by contributing to biological actions that control vascular inflammation and reduce systemic inflammation.

“This large population-based study suggests that nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties may help to maintain lung health,” James P. Kiley, director of the NHLBI’s Division of Lung Diseases, said in the statement. “More research is needed, since these findings raise interesting questions for future prospective studies about the link between omega-3 fatty acids and lung function.”

COVID and Lung Function

Seniors are most at risk for lung diseases as function begins to decline in middle age. (Koldunov/Shutterstock)
Seniors are most at risk for lung diseases as function begins to decline in middle age. (Koldunov/Shutterstock)
Lung function is especially important for adults 65 and older, who are at higher risk for pneumonia. They’re at increased risk for hospitalization, complications, and death.
In some cases, other lung-related diseases contribute to risks for pneumonia. But as a 2015 International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine article pointed out, multiple underlying diseases contribute to risk, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, major surgery, and cerebrovascular disease. It’s the same reason certain people were more vulnerable to developing complications from COVID-19, as the risks are nearly identical. 

“Chronic underlying disease is one of the most important risk factors in elder pneumonia,” according to the 2015 article.

As Ms. Patchen explained: “Lung function typically peaks in the mid-20s to early 30s and then starts declining. Factors that can help decrease the rate of decline are potential therapies for preventing adverse long-term lung health.”

Because long COVID has elements of a prolonged inflammatory response, it makes the application of omega-3 fatty acids all the more interesting, she said. Future studies can hone in on specific lung diseases.

“I think there’s potential because a similar mechanism could be happening with long COVID as we start to learn more about that,” Ms. Patchen said. “The same hypothesis about the anti-inflammatory effects of the omega-3s and how they could be working in the lungs could apply in multiple situations. There are studies that still need to be done. This is certainly not the end of the story for omega-3s.”

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Amy Denney
Amy Denney
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Amy Denney is a health reporter for The Epoch Times. Amy has a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield and has won several awards for investigative and health reporting. She covers the microbiome, new treatments, and integrative wellness.
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