Fish
Oil Prevents Drop in Heart Rate Variability Due to Indoor
Air Pollution
News
Author: Megan Rauscher
CME Author: Hien T. Nghiem, MD
Dec.
22, 2005 (Reuters) — Daily omega-3 fatty acid supplementation
prevents a decline in heart rate variability (HRV) associated
with indoorexposure to fine particulate matter, a common
air pollutant, researchers from the US and Canada report.
"A
lower HRV may increase the risk of a susceptible person
to have a serious cardiac arrhythmia," study investigator
Dr. Fernando Holguin from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta told Reuters Health. "In
the future, when we identify who is most susceptible to
the effects of particulate matter, we could recommend supplementation
with omega-3 fatty acids to reduce their cardiovascular
risk," he added.
Environmental exposure to airborne particulate matter of
2.5 microns in diameter or less (PM-2.5) has been associated
with reductions in HRV, a measure of cardiac autonomic regulation,
and increased cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, Dr.
Holguin and colleagues explain in the second issue of the
December American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine.
"We and others theorize that PM-2.5 - associated reductions
in HRV are a potential mechanism by which PM-2.5 leads to
increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality,"
Dr. Holguin said.
To investigate, 50 relatively healthy elderly nursing home
residents who were free of cardiovascular disease other
than hypertension were randomly allocated to 2 grams of
fish oil or 2 grams of soy (control) oil daily for 5 months.
The researchers say that the fish oil comprised 83.2% omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), and the soy oil
6.7%.
All of the participants had a low intake of n-3 PUFA at
baseline and spent 92% of their time indoors. Their average
age was 82 years.
All subjects underwent six-minute supine HRV measurement
every other day. In the fish oil arm, during the 30-day
presupplementation phase, there was a significant 54% reduction
in HRV per standard deviation of PM-2.5 (8.0 micrograms/m³);
that compared with a reduction of only 7% in HRV per SD
PM-2.5 during the fish oil supplementation phase.
Supplementation with soy oil, on the other hand, was associated
with "a marginal, nonsignificant protection from the
effects of PM-2.5 on HRV," the investigators write.
"Our study shows for the first time that the (effect)
of PM-2.5 on HRV was substantially reduced in an elderly
group of participants randomized to two grams per day of
fish oil," Dr. Holguin said.
Fish oil, as a source of n-3 PUFA, "could be considered
a potential form of preventive measure to reduce the risk
of arrhythmia and sudden death in elderly subjects exposed
to ambient air pollution," he and his colleagues conclude.
"However, larger intervention studies are needed to
confirm the modulating effect of n-3 PUFA on the adverse
cardiovascular outcomes related to air pollution exposure
in susceptible populations and to clarify the dose-response
relationship," they add.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172:1534-1540
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