Evidence Hub

Association of the Omega-3 Index with Incident Prostate Cancer with Updated Meta-Analysis: The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study

Farrell SW, DeFina LF, Tintle NL, Leonard D, Cooper KH, Barlow CE, Haskell WL, Pavlovic A et al.

Nutrients, 2021

5,607 participants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The association between long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and prostate cancer (PC) remains unclear.

METHODS: We compared incident PC rates as a function of the Omega-3 Index [O3I, erythrocyte eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA + DHA)] in 5607 men (40-80 years of age) seen at the Cooper Clinic who were free of PC at baseline. The average follow-up was 5.1 ± 2.8 years until censoring or reporting a new PC diagnosis. Proportional hazards regression was used to model the linear association between baseline O3I and the age-adjusted time to diagnosis. A meta-analysis of n-3 PUFA biomarker-based studies and incident PC was updated with the present findings.

RESULTS: A total of 116 cases of incident PC were identified. When O3I was examined as a continuous variable, the age-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) was 0.98 (0.89, 1.07; p = 0.25) for each 1% increment in the O3I. The updated meta-analysis with 10 biomarker-based studies found no significant relationship between EPA or DHA levels and risk for PC.

CONCLUSIONS: We find no evidence in this study nor in a meta-analysis of similar studies that consuming n-3 PUFA-rich fish or using fish oil supplements affects the risk of PC.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 5,607 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free