Omega-3 levels enhance cardiovascular risk prediction, new study finds

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In a March 20, 2025, press release, OmegaQuant discussed results from a new study on the relationship between omega-3 Index and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The research indicated that omega-3 levels can be an independent predictive factor in CVD, along with other factors including smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes. The study¹, “Omega-3 index improves upon the pooled cohort equation in predicting risk for CVD,” was published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology and made available online in February 2025. As noted in the study’s introduction, CVD is the leading cause of death in the US.

“If people are concerned about correcting their high cholesterol level to reduce their risk for CVD, then they should be equally concerned about correcting their Omega-3 Index,” stated senior investigator of the study, William S. Harris, PhD, president of the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI). “People can test their Omega-3 Index and if it is sub-optimal, they can take steps to correct; and those steps are very safe, cheap and simple — consume more oily fish on a regular basis and/or take omega-3 dietary supplements.”

The study included 2550 participants with an average age of 65 who were free of CVD at baseline. The omega-3 levels of the participants were measured and follow up was conducted for about nine years on average. To test the effect of the Omega-3 index on the Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE) – a tool for predicting the 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) – researchers used the area under the curve (AUC).

Individually, the AUC additions to the model were: 0.028 (blood pressure, HDL cholesterol), 0.020 (diabetes), 0.012 (omega-3 Index), 0.006 (cholesterol), and 0.004 (smoking). With the addition of Omega-3 index, the AUC increased from 0.689 to 0.698. Additionally, when analyzing each factor on its own, the omega-3 index was found to improve each factor’s ability to predict ASCVD.

“These findings are exciting because I have believed for many years that the Omega-3 Index is as important a risk factor for CVD as the standard risk factors, and yet the medical community does not yet realize it,” Harris added. “This study confirms that belief and will hopefully motivate more healthcare providers to start managing their patients’ omega-3 status.”

The researchers suggested that more research is needed in this area with a wider population and other risk assessment tools.

In December 2024, OmegaQuant also released an examination on studies on the association between omega-3 supplementation and heart health.

Reference

1. Franco, WG.; O'Keefe, EL.; O'Keefe, JH.; Tintle, N.; Marchioli, R.; Harris, WS. Omega-3 index improves upon the pooled cohort equation in predicting risk for CVD, Journal of Clinical Lipidology. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacl.2024.12.005.