C-reactive protein, dietary n-3 fatty acids, and the extent of coronary artery disease

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Am J Cardiol. 2001 Nov 15;88(10):1139-42.

C-reactive protein, dietary n-3 fatty acids, and the extent of coronary

artery disease.

Madsen T, Skou HA, Hansen VE, Fog L, Christensen JH, Toft E, Schmidt EB.

Department of Cardiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.

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The acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) has emerged as an

independent risk factor for coronary artery disease. Experimental and

clinical studies provide evidence of anti-inflammatory effects of n-3

polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) derived from fish. We have studied

the effect of marine n-3 PUFA on CRP levels in 269 patients referred for

coronary angiography because of clinical suspicion of coronary artery

disease. All patients filled out a food questionnaire regarding fish

intake. The n-3 PUFA content of granulocyte membranes was determined and

the concentration of CRP in serum was measured using a highly sensitive

assay. The results were related to angiographic findings. CRP was

significantly higher in patients with significant coronary stenoses than

in those with no significant angiographic changes (p <0.001), but the

CRP levels were not associated with the number of diseased vessels.

Subjects with CRP levels in the lower quartile had a significantly

higher content of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in granulocytes than

subjects with CRP levels in the upper quartile (p = 0.02), and in a

multivariate linear regression analysis, DHA was independently

correlated to CRP (R(2) = 0.179; p = 0.003).

The inverse correlation between CRP and DHA may reflect an

anti-inflammatory effect of DHA in patients with stable coronary artery

disease and suggest a novel mechanism by which fish consumption may

decrease the risk of coronary artery disease.

PMID: 11703959

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