Increased levels of Omega-3 linked to elevated risk of colon polyps

While Omega-3 fatty acids are widely recognized for their preventive benefits against various diseases, it's crucial not to overlook their potential adverse effects when used excessively.

A recent study in 'Nutrients' examined the impact of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on colon polyps in individuals of European descent.

Na Shen and colleagues identified significant single nucleotide polymorphisms correlating PUFAs with colon polyps in genome-wide association studies comprising 135,006 samples in a discovery cohort and 114,999 samples in a confirming set. Various methods were employed to evaluate causality between single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to PUFAs and colon polyps. These methods included inverse variance weighted, weighted median, MR-Egger, and sensitivity analyses such as leave-one-out and heterogeneity assessments.

Results showed that higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/total fatty acids ratio, and the Omega-3/total fatty acids ratio were associated with increased risk of colon polyps. Conversely, higher ratios of Omega-6/Omega-3 and Linoleic acid/total fatty acids were linked to a reduced risk of colon polyps.