Telomere length could explain effects of fish oil in CHD

From Heartwire...

A new study in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has uncovered an inverse association between baseline blood levels of fish oil and the rate of telomere shortening over five years, suggesting a possible explanation for the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids.

Telomeres are the extreme ends of chromosomal DNA that shorten with age. Telomere shortening is seen as an indicator of biological aging, and telomere length has been shown to independently predict morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases, Dr Ramin Farzaneh-Far (San Francisco General Hospital, CA) and colleagues explain in their paper published in the January 20, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This is yet another reason for cardiologists to try to convince their patients to take either a fish-oil supplement or eat regular fatty-fish meals.

"This suggests the existence of a novel mechanism for why omega-3 fatty acids are effective in this patient population—an area that has not been well worked out previously; it suggests they could be acting through telomeres," Farzaneh-Far told heartwire. "It's also the first study that shows that a dietary factor may be able to slow down telomere shortening," he observes.

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Farzaneh-Far R, Lin J, Epel ES, et al. Association of marine omega-3 fatty acids with telomeric aging in patients with CHD. JAMA 2010; 303:250-257