Fatty Acids, Amphiregulin Production, and Lung Function in a Cohort of Midwestern Veterans.
Corrine Hanson, Jana Ponce, Mia Isaak and 6 others
PMID 36188926WHAT IT FOUND
Higher plasma levels of certain fatty acids linked to better lung function, while others linked to worse.
Dietary intake showed few associations. These are observational links in veterans, not proof that eating specific fats improves breathing.
Key findings
01Plasma docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) was positively associated with FEV1/FVC ratio and FEV1 percent predicted.
02Most plasma saturated fatty acids showed inverse associations with lung function outcomes.
03Dietary intake of total saturated fatty acids was positively associated with the FEV1/FVC ratio.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is observational and cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that fatty acids cause changes in lung function. The sample size is small (92 participants) and the response rate to the dietary survey was very low (14%), which may introduce selection bias. The population was highly homogeneous (97% white, 97% male, agricultural background), limiting generalizability to other groups. Dietary intake was self-reported via questionnaire, which is subject to recall bias and measurement error. The study did not adjust for some potential confounders like corticosteroid use.
Declared interests
The study was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veteran's Affairs Merit Award. The authors declared no commercial or financial conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not advise patients to change their diet to increase or decrease specific fats based on this study. The associations found are observational and inconsistent between plasma levels and dietary intake, meaning they do not demonstrate that eating more of a certain fat will improve lung function.