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Higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, the fats found in fish, are linked to a healthier old age, according to a new study.
Researchers tracked 2,622 adults, average age 74 and healthy at the start of the study, from 1992 to 2015, looking to see if they continued to live without chronic diseases and without mental or physical problems.
The investigators measured blood levels of four common types of omega-3s: EPA and DHA, found in seafood; ALA, derived from plants; and DPA, which the body produces in small amounts.
After adjusting for many medical, dietary and lifestyle factors, they found that compared with people in the lowest one-fifth for omega-3 levels, those in the highest one-fifth had an 18 percent lower risk of unhealthy aging. The study appeared in BMJ.
Considered separately, EPA and DPA were associated with lowered risk of unhealthy aging, but DHA and ALA were not.
The lead author, Heidi T.M. Lai, a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University, said that the study is observational and does not prove cause and effect.
Still, she said, “In our study we found that adults with higher blood levels of omega-3s from seafood were more likely to live longer and healthier lives. So it is a great idea to eat more fish.”