Fish Oil Supplements Counteract Genetic Predisposition to High Cholesterol

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Fish oil seems to counteract genetic predisposition to high cholesterol, according to a study published online July 15 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Yitang Sun, Ph.D., from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens, and colleagues examined whether fish oil supplementation modifies the association between genetically predicted and observed concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. The analysis included data from 441,985 participants in the U.K. Biobank.

The researchers found that fish oil supplementation attenuates the associations between genetically predicted and observed circulating concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides while accentuating the corresponding association for HDL cholesterol. Findings were consistent across different polygenic score (PGS) calculation methods. Each standard deviation increment in PGS for triglycerides was associated with a 0.254 increase in the observed concentration of participants reporting fish oil usage. A stronger association was seen in nonusers (0.267). Similarly, fish oil significantly attenuates the association between genetically predicted and observed concentrations of triglycerides in participants of African ancestry.

“Our study shows that considering lifestyles will improve genetic prediction,” coauthor Kaixiong Ye, Ph.D., also from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement. “Our findings also support that fish oil supplements may counteract the genetic predisposition to high cholesterol.”

Abstract/Full Text