Omega-3 intakes may improve diabetic kidney health

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Omega-3 intakes may improve diabetic kidney health

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By Stephen Daniells, 12-Apr-2010

 

 

Increased intakes of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce kidney damage in

type-1 diabetics, without impacting the incidence of the condition, says a new

study.

 

 

Kidney function was improved in type-1 diabetics with the highest average

intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA),

compared with people with the lower intakes of the fatty acids, according to

findings published in Diabetes Care.

 

 

The results are based on data from 1,436 participants in the Diabetes

Control and Complications Trial – a trial including people aged between 13

and

39 and funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and

Kidney Diseases.

 

 

Type-1 diabetes occurs when people are not able to produce any insulin

after the cells in the pancreas have been damaged, thought to be an autoimmune

response. The disease is most common among people of European descent,

with around two million Europeans and North Americans affected.

 

 

In addition, the incidence of the disease is reportedly on the rise at

about three per cent per year. The number of new cases is estimated to rise 40

per cent between 2000 and 2010.

 

 

Diabetics are known to be at increased risk of kidney disease.

 

 

Study details

 

The researchers, led by Dr Amanda Adler from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at

the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge (UK), measured the

excretion of the protein albumin in urine. Albumin is the most abundant protein

in

human serum and in people with kidney problems the protein leaks from the

kidney into the urine. A level of 30 mg per 24 hours is reportedly

representative of sufficient function.

 

 

According to the results, people with a higher average intake of omega-3s

had albumin excretion levels 22.7 mg per 24 hours lower than people with

the lowest average intakes of omega-3.

 

 

However, no link was observed with the incidence of kidney damage or

raised albumin levels, said the researchers.

 

 

“Dietary omege-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids appear inversely

associated with the degree, but not with the incidence of albuminuria in

type-1 diabetes,†wrote Dr Adler and her co-workers. “These findings

require

further investigation in prospective studies.â€

 

 

Omega-3 and type-2 diabetes

 

 

Results of a double-blind placebo-controlled trial from Hong Kong

published earlier this year suggested that supplements of omega-3 fatty acids

may

improve the kidney health of diabetics. In this study, the researchers

evaluated kidney function by measuring creatine levels, with high levels

indicative of damage to the functioning of nephrons in the kidney.

 

 

“Our results showed a significant decrease in serum creatinine level after

fish-oil supplement in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients,†stated the

researchers in Diabetic Medicine (Vol. 27, pp. 54-60). “Prior studies have

[also] suggested that fish-oil supplement has renoprotective effects in

diabetes mellitus,†they added.

 

 

Fish oils may reduce the risk of type-1 diabetes

 

 

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association

(2007, Vol. 298, pp. 1420-1428) reported that higher intakes of omega-3 may

actually reduce the rosk of type-1 diabetes by 55 per cent. The study analysed

data from 1,770 children at high risk of developing type-1 diabetes.

 

 

Source: Diabetes Care

Published online ahead of print, doi:10.2337/dc09-2245

“Dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid

(DHA) and diabetic nephropathy – cohort analysis of the Diabetes Control and

Complications Trial (DCCT) Diabetes Careâ€

Authors: C.C. Lee, S.J. Sharp, D.J. Wexler, A.I. Adler