Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Structural and Functional Effects on the Vascular Wall

Table 1

Studies evaluating n-3 PUFA effects on arterial stiffness.

(a) Animal studies

First author	Year	Dose	Sample	Duration (w)	Study design	Outcome measure	Results
Sato [48]	1993	300 mg/kg/day EPA	High-cholesterol-diet-fed rabbits	12	AES-PG	cf-PWV	Prevent increase in cf-PWV
Engler [50]	2003	DHA-enriched oil	Spontaneous hypertensive rats	6	AES-PG	Wall thickness, PP	Reduce wall thickness and PP
Masson [49]	2008	diet enriched w. 16 g/kg n-3 PUFA	Fructose-fed rats	10	AES-PC	PP	Prevent increase in PP
Losurdo [51]	2014	0.65 g/kg/d versus placebo by gavage	Ovariectomized rats	8	AES-PC	cf-PWV	Prevent increase in cf-PWV

(b) Human studies

First author	Year	Dose	Sample	Duration (w)	Number	Study design	Outcome measure	Results
McVeigh [110]	1994	1800 mg EPA + 1200 mg DHA/d versus placebo (olive oil)	Type 2 diabetes	6	20	RCT-PC	Total AC	Increase in total AC
Nestel [111]	2002	3000 mg EPA/d versus 3000 mg DHA/d versus placebo (olive oil)	Dyslipidemic	7	38	RCT-PC	Total AC	Increase 36% with EPA, 27% with DHA
Tomiyama [62]	2011	1800 mg EPA/d versus control (diet therapy)	Dyslipidemic	52	84	RCT-PG	ba-PWV	Reduction of ba-PWV
Hjerkinn [29]	2006	2400 mg n-3 PUFA versus control diet	Dyslipidemic	156	563	RCT-PG	cr-PWV	Decrease in cr-PWV 4%
Hill [112]	2007	1560 mg DHA + 360 mg EPA/d versus placebo (6 g sunflower oil/d)	Overweight, hypertensive, dyslipidemic	6 to 12	38	RCT-PC	Small and large AC	Increase in small AC 26%.
Mita [28]	2007	1800 mg EPA/d versus control (no EPA)	Type 2 diabetes	6	64	RCT-PG	ba-PWV	Reduction of ba-PWV
Wang [113]	2008	540 mg EPA + 360 mg DHA versus placebo capsules	Overweight, hypertensive	8	52	RCT-PC	Small and large AC	Increase in large AC 21%
Satoh [114]	2009	1800 mg EPA/d + diet versus control (diet only)	Metabolic syndrome	12	92	RCT-PG	ca-PWV	Reduction of ca-PWV 6%
Ayer [115]	2009	32 mg EPA/d + 135 mg DHA/d + canola oil versus control diet	Healthy children	260	616	RCT-PG	Carotid artery distensibility, cb-PWV, Aix	No difference
Sjoberg [116]	2010	1560 DHA + 360 mg EPA/d versus placebo (sunola oil)	Overweight	12	67	RCT-PC	Small and large AC	Increase in large AC 14%
Dangardt [60]	2010	1200 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Obese adolescents	12	25	RCT-PC	cf-PWV	No difference
Sanders [58]	2011	1800 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Healthy subjects	52	312	RCT-PC	cf-PWV	Decrease in cf-PWV
Haiden [57]	2012	1800 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Hypertensive, dyslipidemic	52	19	CT	ba-PWV, aortic strain rate	Decrease in ba-PWV 1%, strain rate 17%
Siasos [54]	2013	2000 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Healthy smokers	12	20	RCT-PC	cf-PWV	Decrease in cf-PWV 6%
Root [59]	2013	1700 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Overweight young	4	30	RCT-PC	cf-PWV	No difference
Wong [56]	2013	4000 mg n-3 PUFA + diet versus diet alone	Obese	12	13	RCT-PC	Small and large AC	Increase in large AC 20%, small AC 22%
Tousoulis [55]	2014	2000 mg n-3 PUFA versus placebo	Metabolic syndrome	12	29	RCT-PC	cf-PWV	Decrease in cf-PWV 5%

n-3 PUFA, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; PWV, pulse wave velocity; cf, carotid-femoral; ba, brachial-ankle; cr, carotid-radial; PP, pulse pressure; AC, arterial compliance; AES, animal experimental study; RCT, randomized clinical trial; CT, clinical trial; PG, parallel groups; PC, placebo controlled; d, day; w, week.