Context: The anti-inflammatory activity of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been established in several chronic inflammatory diseases but has yet to be demonstrated in inflammatory lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate, using PRISMA guidelines, the relationship between the intake of long-chain n-3 PUFAs and the prevalence, severity, and health outcomes of COPD.
Data sources: Eight health databases and the World Health Organization's international clinical trial registry were searched for relevant studies.
Study selection: Experimental or observational studies that were published in English and that assessed long-chain n-3 PUFA intake (by determining habitual consumption and/or tissue levels) in adults with COPD were included.
Data extraction: Publication demographics, participant characteristics, type of intervention or exposure, long-chain n-3 PUFA intake, pulmonary function, COPD mortality, and COPD severity were independently extracted from each article by 2 authors using a prospectively designed data extraction tool.
Data synthesis: All 11 of the studies included in the review were observational. Approximately equal numbers of studies reported significant (n = 6, 5 inverse) relationships or no significant relationships (n = 5) between either consumption of long-chain n-3 PUFAs or levels of long-chain n-3 PUFAS in tissue and a COPD outcome.
Conclusions: Current evidence of a relationship between long-chain n-3 PUFA intake and COPD is limited and conflicting, with studies having wide methodological variation.
Registration number: PROSPERO 2013:CRD42013004085.
Keywords: COPD; LCn-3 PUFA; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; long-chain n-3 fatty acid; polyunsaturated fatty acid; systematic review..
© The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.