Is marine mammal fat or fish intake most strongly associated with omega-3 blood levels among the Nunavik Inuit?

Here we determined the relationship between red blood cell (RBC) omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) and usual dietary marine food product intake among 630 Nunavik Inuit adults.Marine food product intake was determined by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and fatty acids were quantified in RBC membranes. Multiple linear regression was undertaken to determine the relationship between marine food product inatke and RBC n-3 LC-PUFAs (dependent variable).Mean RBC n-3 LC-PUFA level was 9.16±0.11% [SEM]. The highest correlations noted with RBC n-3 LC-PUFAs were for marine mammal fat (rs=0.41, P<0.0001) and fish (rs=0.35, P<0.0001). Age, total marine mammal fat and fish intakes were the variables that contributed the most to predicted RBC n-3 LC-PUFAs and explained 34%, 15% and 5%, respectively, of its variances.Our study indicates that marine mammal fat intake is more important than fish in accounting for RBC n-3 LC-PUFA levels among the Nunavik Inuit.