Research

Hormonal

Higher circulating levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DPA, DHA) are associated with lower total mortality and specifically reduced cardiovascular mortality in older adults without prevalent cardiovascular disease.

For older adults (65+) without existing heart disease, maintaining higher blood levels of EPA, DHA, and DHA is linked to living longer, primarily by reducing heart-related deaths. This suggests that ensuring adequate intake of these fatty acids through diet (e.g., fish) is a viable strategy for longevity, with an estimated gain of over 2 years of life after age 65 for those with the highest levels compared to the lowest.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
After adjustment, higher plasma levels of (cid:1)3-PUFA biomarkers were associated with lower total mortality... Lower risk was largely attributable to fewer cardiovascular than noncardiovascular deaths.
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2013

Why this rating

Prospective cohort study with large sample size and long follow-up, but observational design limits causal inference compared to RCTs.

Source

Plasma Phospholipid Long-Chain ω-3 Fatty Acids and Total and Cause-Specific Mortality in Older Adults

Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2013

DOI 10.7326/0003-4819-158-7-201304020-00003

cohort · n=2692Cited 281×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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