Is Ratio of Omega-3/Omega-6 Fatty Acids Intake Related with the Level of Omega-3 in the Membrane of Erythrocyte among Institutionalized Elderly?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2020.388.392Keywords:
Elderly population, health problems, inflammaging, institutionalized elderly, level of omega-3 erythrocyte membrane, ratio of omega-3/omega-6 intakeAbstract
Background and Objective: Increased life expectancy also causes an increase in various diseases associated with inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have anti-inflammatory effects but these effects are influenced by the presence of omega-6 fatty acids because they compete in the synthesis of eicosanoids. Therefore, the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake is important to consider. The ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake will affect the level of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the ratio of omega-3 / omega-6 fatty acid intake with the level of omega-3 fatty acid of erythrocyte membranes in the elderly in five registered nursing homes in South Tangerang City. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 101 elderly subjects using proportional random sampling method. The ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQ-FFQ) and the omega-3 fatty acid levels of the erythrocyte membrane were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We use Spearman's analysis to see the correlation. Results: The mean age of the participants was 75.5±7.6 years and the majority of participants were women (73.3%). Furthermore, the median ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake was 0.08 (0.05-0.23) and the median value of erythrocyte membrane omega-3 fatty acids for ALA = 10.06 (4.9-24.9) μg mL–1, EPA = 14.6 (5.06 - 81.02) ug mL–1, DHA = 115.5 (20.6-275.09) ug mL–1, total omega-3 = 144.1 (89.3 - 332.1) μg mL–1. Conclusion: No correlation was found between the ratio of omega-3/omega-6 fatty acid intake with the level of omega-3 fatty acid erythrocyte membrane among institutionalized elderly. (r = -0.06, p = 0.6 for ALA; r = 0.06, p = 0.5 for EPA, r = -0.07, p = 0.5 for DHA and r = -0.06, p = 0.5 for total omega-3).
References
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division 2015. World Population Ageing 2015. United Nations New York, Pages: 149.
Setiati, S., 2013. Geriatric medicine, sarkopenia, frailty, dan kualitas hidup pasien usia lanjut: tantangan masa depan pendidikan, penelitian dan pelayanan kedokteran di Indonesia. eJournal Kedokteran Indonesia, 1: 234-242.
Ferrucci, L. and E. Fabbri, 2018. Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty. Nat. Rev. Cardiol., 15: 505-522.
Calder, P.C., N. Bosco, R. Bourdet-Sicard, L. Capuron and N. Delzenne et al., 2017. Health relevance of the modification of low grade inflammation in ageing (inflammageing) and the role of nutrition. Ageing Res. Rev., 40: 95-119.
Innes, J.K. and P.C. Calder, 2018. Omega-6 fatty acids and inflammation. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes Essent. Fatty Acids 132: 41-48.
Olliver, M., M. Veysey, M. Lucock, S. Niblett, K. King, L. MacDonald-Wicks and M.L. Garg, 2016. Erythrocyte omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels are associated with biomarkers of inflammation in older Australians. J. Nutr. Intermediary Metab., 5: 61-69.
Ongan, D. and N. Rakıcıoğlu, 2015. Nutritional status and dietary intake of institutionalized elderly in Turkey: A cross-sectional, multi-center, country representative study. Arch. Gerontology Geriatrics, 61: 271-276.
World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2000. The Asia-Pacific perspective : redefining obesity and its treatment. Health Communications Australia. Sydney, Australia Pages: 55.
Mahoney, F.I. and D.W. Barthel, 1965. Functional evaluation: The barthel index. Md. State Med. J., 14: 61-65.
Curcio, F., I. Liguori, M. Cellulare, G. Sasso and D. Della-Morte et al., 2019. Physical activity scale for the elderly (pase) score is related to sarcopenia in noninstitutionalized older adults. J. Geriatric Phys. Ther., 42: 130-135.
Logan, S., B. Gottlieb, S. Maitland, D. Meegan and L. Spriet, 2013. The physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE) questionnaire; does it predict physical health? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 10: 3967-3986.
Washburn, R.A., K.W. Smith, A.M. Jette and C.A. Janney, 1993. The physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE): Development and evaluation. J. Clin. Epidemiol., 46: 153-162.
Gellert, S., J.P. Schuchardt and A. Hahn, 2017. Low long chain omega-3 fatty acid status in middle-aged women. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 117: 54-59.
Jones, P.J.H. and T. Rideout, 2014. Lipids, Sterols, and Their Metabolites. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, Ross, A.C., (Ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pp: 77-79.
Harris, W.S., J.V. Pottala, S.M. Lacey, R.S. Vasan, M.G. Larson and S.J. Robins, 2012. Clinical correlates and heritability of erythrocyte eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid content in the framingham heart study. Atherosclerosis, 225: 425-431.
Harris, W.S., J.V. Pottala, S.A. Varvel, J.J. Borowski, J.N. Ward and J.P. McConnell, 2013. Erythrocyte omega-3 fatty acids increase and linoleic acid decreases with age: Observations from 160,000 patients. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes Essent. Fatty Acids, 88: 257-263.
Plourde, M., R. Chouinard-Watkins, M. Vandal, Y. Zhang, P. Lawrence, J.T. Brenna and S.C. Cunnane, 2011. Plasma incorporation, apparent retroconversion and β-oxidation of 13C-docosahexaenoic acid in the elderly. Nutr. Metab. (Lond), Vol. 8, No. 5.
Wagner, A., C. Simon, B. Morio, J. Dallongeville and J.B. Ruidavets et al., 2015. Omega-3 index levels and associated factors in a middle-aged French population: the MONA LISA-NUT study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 69: 436-441.
Nordgren, T., E. Lyden, A. Anderson-Berry and C. Hanson, 2017. Omega-3 fatty acid intake of pregnant women and women of childbearing age in the United States: Potential for deficiency? Nutrients, Vol. 9, No. 197.
Block, R.C., W.S. Harris and J.V. Pottala, 2008. Clinical investigation: determinants of blood cell omega-3 fatty acid content. Open Biomarkers Journal, 1: 1-6.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.