Omega-3 fatty acids in adipose tissue and risk of atrial fibrillation.

Background The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between adipose tissue content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods In this case-cohort study based on data from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort, a total of 5,255 incident cases of AF was identified during 16.9 years of follow-up. Adipose tissue biopsies collected at baseline from all cases and from a randomly drawn subcohort of 3,440 participants were determined by gas chromatography. Data were analysed using weighted Cox regression. Results Data were available for 4,741 incident cases of AF (2,920 men and 1,821 women). Participants in the highest vs. the lowest quintile of EPA experienced a 45% lower risk of AF (men HR 0.55 (95% CI 0.41-0.69); women HR 0.55 (0.41-0.72)). For DHA, no clear association was found in men, whereas in women, participants in the highest quintile of DHA in adipose tissue had a 30% lower risk of incident AF (HR 0.70 (0.54-0.91)) compared to participants in the lowest quintile. Conclusions A monotonous inverse association was found for the content of EPA in adipose tissue and risk of AF in both men and women. The content of DHA was inversely associated with the risk of AF in women, whereas no clear association was found for men.