Blood omega-3 fatty acids and death from COVID-19: A Pilot Study

Very-long chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) have anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection. We conducted a pilot study in 100 patients to test the hypothesis that RBC EPA+DHA levels (the Omega-3 Index, O3I) would be inversely associated with risk for death by analyzing the O3I in banked blood samples drawn at hospital admission. To have adequate power (>80%) in this pilot study, we pre-specified a significance level of 0.10. Fourteen patients died, one of 25 in quartile 4 (Q4) (O3I ≥5.7%) and 13 of 75 in Q1-3. After adjusting for age and sex, the odds ratio for death in patients with an O3I in Q4 vs Q1-3 was 0.25, p=0.07. Thus, we have suggestive evidence that the risk for death from COVID-19 was lower in those with the highest O3I levels. These preliminary findings need to be confirmed in larger studies.