Abstract
Clinical recommendations relating to dietary omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) should consider an individual’s baseline intake. The time, cost, and practicality constraints of current techniques for quantifying omega-3 levels limit the feasibility of applying these methods in some settings, such as eye care practice. This preliminary validation study, involving 40 adults, sought to assess the validity of a novel questionnaire, the Clinical Omega-3 Dietary Survey (CODS), for rapidly assessing long-chain omega-3 intake. Estimated dietary intakes of long-chain omega-3s from CODS correlated with the validated Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiology Studies (DQES), Version 3.2, (Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia) and quantitative assays from dried blood spot (DBS) testing. The ‘method of triads’ model was used to estimate a validity coefficient (ρ) for the relationship between the CODS and an estimated “true” intake of long-chain omega-3 EFAs. The CODS had high validity for estimating the ρ (95% Confidence Interval [CI]) for total long-chain omega-3 EFAs 0.77 (0.31–0.98), docosahexaenoic acid 0.86 (0.54–0.99) and docosapentaenoic acid 0.72 (0.14–0.97), and it had moderate validity for estimating eicosapentaenoic acid 0.57 (0.21–0.93). The total long-chain omega-3 EFAs estimated using the CODS correlated with the Omega-3 index (r = 0.37, p = 0.018) quantified using the DBS biomarker. The CODS is a novel tool that can be administered rapidly and easily, to estimate long-chain omega-3 sufficiency in clinical settings.
Highlights
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that cannot be synthesized de novo, and must be derived from food sources or dietary supplementation.The potential benefit of diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown in a variety of health conditions, such as hypercholesterolaemia and rheumatoid arthritis [1,2]
The grey shaded area highlights the limits of agreement (LoA). This preliminary validation study shows that a novel food frequency questionnaires (FFQs), the Clinical Omega-3 Dietary Survey (CODS), is a simple, valid tool for assessing long-chain omega-3 EFA intake in Australian adults
The dietary estimates derived from the CODS correlated moderately well with long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake quantified using the comprehensive, validated Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiology Studies (DQES) (v3.2), as well as the systemic fatty acid profiles derived from dried blood spot analyses
Summary
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that cannot be synthesized de novo, and must be derived from food sources or dietary supplementation.The potential benefit of diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown in a variety of health conditions, such as hypercholesterolaemia and rheumatoid arthritis [1,2]. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that cannot be synthesized de novo, and must be derived from food sources or dietary supplementation. Omega-3 PUFAs exist in both short- and long-chain forms. The short-chain omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-linoleic acid (ALA). Are derived from plant-based sources (e.g., flaxseed and walnuts) and they are a precursor to the more biologically potent long-chain omega-3 EFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Dietary long-chain omega-3 EFAs are found mostly in marine sources (e.g., oily fish and seafood). Long-chain omega-3 PUFAs are incorporated into cellular membranes and play a role in cellular signaling, modulating systemic inflammation, and influencing immune function [3,4]
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