In middle-aged and older people with type 2 diabetes, consuming at least 500 mg per day of dietary long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, readily attainable with two weekly servings of oily fish, was associated with a lower risk for sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy, according to a recent journal article published in JAMA Ophthalmology. The trial was conducted in major health care facilities in Spain. From 2003 to 2009, 3,614 contributors aged 55 to 80 years with an earlier diagnosis of type 2 diabetes had been recruited.
Of the individuals, a total of 2,611 (75%) met the goal LC-omega-3PUFA recommendation. For the duration of the median follow-up of 6 years, incident DR was identified in 69 of the study subjects. After adjusting for age, sex, intervention group, and lifestyle and clinical variables, individuals meeting the LC-omega3PUFA suggestion at baseline (500 mg/d or better) when compared with those no longer fulfilling this recommendation (lower than 500 mg/d) showed a 48% relatively lowered risk of incident sight-threatening DR.