Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 4:11:1424156.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1424156. eCollection 2024.

Dose-response relationship of dietary Omega-3 fatty acids on slowing phenotypic age acceleration: a cross-sectional study

Dongzhe Wu #  1 , Yishuai Jia #  2 , Yujia Liu  3 , Mingyu Shang  4
Affiliations

Dose-response relationship of dietary Omega-3 fatty acids on slowing phenotypic age acceleration: a cross-sectional study

Dongzhe Wu et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates the association between dietary Omega-3 fatty acid intake and accelerated phenotypic aging, referred to as PhenoAgeAccel. PhenoAgeAccel is defined as the difference between phenotypic biological age, calculated using blood biochemical markers, and chronological age. This study assesses the potential of Omega-3 intake to slow biological aging and its implications for public health.

Methods: Utilizing data from the NHANES from 1999 to 2018, this cross-sectional study included 20,337 adult participants. Through a nationally representative sample combined with comprehensive phenotypic age calculation methods, a cross-sectional analysis of Omega-3 fatty acid intake and accelerated phenotypic aging was conducted. Weighted generalized linear regression models and restricted cubic spline analyses were applied to explore the potential non-linear relationships between them. Threshold effects were further clarified through piecewise regression models, and the impact of different demographic and health characteristics was evaluated through interaction effect tests.

Results: After adjusting for various potential confounding factors, a significant negative correlation was found between Omega-3 fatty acid intake and PhenoAgeAccel (β = -0.071; 95% CI: -0.119, -0.024; p = 0.004), indicating that an increase in Omega-3 intake is associated with a slowdown in PhenoAgeAccel. Specifically, for each unit increase in Omega-3 intake, the accelerated phenotypic aging decreased by an average of 0.071 units, revealing a significant linear negative correlation between Omega-3 intake and PhenoAgeAccel. Moreover, threshold effect analysis identified an Omega-3 fatty acid intake threshold (1.103 grams/day), beyond which the impact of Omega-3 intake on accelerated phenotypic aging tends to stabilize. Additionally, factors such as gender, age, race, and hypertension may influence the relationship between Omega-3 intake and PhenoAgeAccel, suggesting individual dietary guidance needs in different populations.

Conclusion: This study highlights the potential role of dietary Omega-3 fatty acids in regulating PhenoAgeAccel and supports the strategy of delaying the aging process through dietary interventions to increase Omega-3 intake. The findings of this study contributes to the development of precise nutritional intervention strategies for different populations to optimize healthy longevity.

Keywords: Omega-3; aging; nutritional health; phenotypic age; phenotypic age acceleration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association analysis between Omega-3 intake and phenoptypic age acceleration in American adults. Crude Model is the unadjusted model. Model 1 adjusted for age, gender, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI. Model 2 adjusted for age, gender, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cancer.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association analysis between Omega-3 intake and phenoptypic age acceleration in American adults (gender subgroup: male). Crude Model is the unadjusted model. Model 1 adjusted for age, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI. Model 2 adjusted for age, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cancer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association analysis between Omega-3 intake and phenoptypic age acceleration in American adults (gender subgroup: female). Crude Model is the unadjusted model. Model 1 adjusted for age, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI. Model 2 adjusted for age, race, PIR, education, BMI, marital status, smoke, alcohol, physical activity, HEI, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Moqri M, Herzog C, Poganik JR, Ying K, Justice JN, Belsky DW, et al. . Validation of biomarkers of aging. Nat Med. (2024) 30:360–72. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02784-9, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Levine ME. Modeling the rate of senescence: can estimated biological age predict mortality more accurately than chronological age? J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. (2013) 68:667–74. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gls233, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Levine M, Lu A, Quach A, Chen BH, Assimes T, Bandinelli S, et al. . An epigenetic biomarker of aging for lifespan and healthspan. Aging. (2018) 10:573–91. doi: 10.18632/aging.101414, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen L, Yin X, Zhao Y, Chen H, Tan T, Yao P, et al. . Biological ageing and the risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with diabetes: a prospective cohort study. J Epidemiol Commun Health. (2022) 76:771–8. doi: 10.1136/jech-2022-219142, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shadyab AH, McEvoy LK, Horvath S, Whitsel EA, Rapp SR, Espeland MA, et al. . Association of blood-based epigenetic age acceleration with cognitive impairment and brain outcomes by cardiovascular disease among women. Alzheimers Dement. (2021) 17:e051774. doi: 10.1002/alz.051774 - DOI

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

LinkOut - more resources