Abstract
Oily fish is rich in long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which have
been associated with several health benefits. However, fish consumption is
generally low in many countries, including the Middle East, resulting in low
omega-3 blood levels. In Palestine, no data on the omega-3 blood status is
available. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the omega-3 status
and related factors in young healthy subjects from Palestine. Omega-3 status
was assessed using the Omega-3 Index—defined as the sum of EPA
+ DHA in relation to the total fatty acid content of erythrocytes. A total of
149 subjects, 50 males and 99 females (age range: 18–24 years), were
included in the study. In addition to the Omega-3 Index, data on anthropometrics,
physical activity, smoking status, fish intake, dietary supplement intake,
blood lipid profile, and whole erythrocyte fatty acid pattern were collected. The
mean (SD) Omega-3 Index was 2.56 (0.57)%, with 97.9% of subjects having
an index below 4%. The majority of participants (91.8%) consumed less than
two portions of fish per week, and only 4% reported taking omega-3 supplements,
mostly irregularly. Our findings show that young Palestinian students
have an alarmingly low omega-3 status. Further studies are needed to investigate
whether the omega-3 status is also low in the general Palestinian
population.

Title

Lipids

Publisher

Wiley

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

1.6

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

5

Year

2023

Pages

1-8