Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Kidney Health in Diabetes: Genetic and Clinical Evidence

This study looked at whether omega-3 fatty acids play a role in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), a common complication of diabetes that affects the kidneys’ blood vessels. Researchers used a genetic research method called Mendelian randomization to see if naturally higher omega-3 levels in the blood were linked to lower risk of DKD, and compared this to omega-6 fatty acids.

The genetic analysis found that higher omega-3 levels were associated with a modestly lower risk of DKD, while omega-6 levels showed no clear link. The researchers also identified several blood proteins that appeared to partly explain this connection, pointing to biological pathways involved in inflammation, cell signaling, and cell survival.

Separately, the team combined results from 12 randomized controlled trials involving 474 people with DKD who took omega-3 supplements. Across these trials, omega-3 supplementation was linked to lower triglycerides, lower systolic blood pressure, higher ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, and reduced levels of a marker of kidney tubule injury. However, it did not significantly improve two key measures of kidney filtering function (albumin-to-creatinine ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate).