TABLE 1.
Descriptive characteristics of young and older adults at baseline and older adults before and after 6 mo of placebo or n–3-PUFA supplementation1
| Old n–3 vs. old placebo | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young vs. old | Old placebo (n = 22) | Old n–3 PUFA (n = 22) | Adjusted mean | |||||||
| Young (n = 30) | Old (n = 54) | P value | Baseline | Follow-up | Baseline | Follow-up | difference | 95% CI | P value | |
| Sex, F/M | 15/15 | 28/26 | 14/8 | 7/15 | ||||||
| Age, y | 27.7 ± 4.11 | 71.4 ± 4.40 | 71.0 ± 4.80 | 71.5 ± 4.90 | 72.3 ± 4.32 | 72.5 ± 4.23 | ||||
| Height, cm | 171 ± 8.56 | 169 ± 9.72 | 0.189 | 167 ± 10.8 | 167 ± 11.0 | 170 ± 10.3 | 170 ± 9.61 | 0.044 | −0.509, 0.598 | 0.872 |
| Weight, kg | 73.8 ± 11.4 | 74.7 ± 13.4 | 0.832 | 72.5 ± 13.5 | 72.5 ± 13.8 | 77.7 ± 13.2 | 78.2 ± 14.2 | 0.782 | −0.651, 2.21 | 0.277 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 24.9 ± 2.70 | 26.2 ± 3.59 | 0.10 | 25.8 ± 3.62 | 25.9 ± 3.72 | 26.7 ± 3.70 | 27.0 ± 4.10 | 0.128 | −0.443, 0.698 | 0.653 |
| Heart rate, BPM | 67.5 ± 10.8 | 62.9 ± 8.17 | 0.03 | 64.0 ± 9.85 | 66.9 ± 11.3 | 61.7 ± 6.92 | 63.4 ± 10.3 | 1.40 | −3.42, 6.22 | 0.560 |
| SBP, mm Hg | 116 ± 10.1 | 129 ± 13.5 | <0.001 | 128 ± 15.7 | 132 ± 19.6 | 131 ± 11.5 | 126 ± 12.8 | 6.67 | −0.437, 13.8 | 0.065 |
| DBP, mm Hg | 72.1 ± 9.13 | 73.3 ± 9.95 | 0.57 | 74.2 ± 9.62 | 75.5 ± 13.1 | 71.7 ± 9.83 | 75.4 ± 9.90 | −2.37 | −7.85, 3.11 | 0.387 |
| RBC EPA, μM | 3.74 ± 1.82 | 7.56 ± 4.83 | 0.035 | 8.54 ± 4.45 | 6.82 ± 7.04 | 6.58 ± 5.10 | 38.1 ± 13.0 | −32.8 | −39.4, −26.2 | <0.001 |
| RBC DHA, μM | 59.2 ± 16.2 | 66.8 ± 25.4 | 0.122 | 72.2 ± 24.5 | 57.4 ± 13.6 | 61.5 ± 25.7 | 94.0 ± 18.9 | −39.2 | −48.1, −30.3 | <0.001 |
| Plasma glucose, mg/dL | 86.0 ± 7.48 | 93.5 ± 8.31 | <0.001 | 92.5 ± 8.87 | 95.1 ± 9.70 | 94.4 ± 7.81 | 98.2 ± 10.9 | −1.00 | −5.52, 3.51 | 0.655 |
| Plasma insulin, μIU/mL | 7.37 ± 3.33 | 7.90 ± 5.55 | 0.641 | 7.85 ± 5.85 | 9.43 ± 5.86 | 7.94 ± 5.38 | 11.0 ± 8.14 | −1.66 | −4.83, 1.51 | 0.298 |
| HOMA-IR | 1.59 ± 0.80 | 1.89 ± 1.52 | 0.326 | 1.87 ± 1.62 | 2.24 ± 1.63 | 1.90 ± 1.46 | 2.78 ± 2.44 | −0.536 | −1.40, 0.328 | 0.217 |
| Steps/d | 7540 ± 1900 | 7990 ± 3200 | 0.489 | 7660 ± 3320 | 6670 ± 3320 | 8320 ± 3110 | 7650 ± 3030 | 189 | −1150, 1530 | 0.777 |
| MVPA, min | 35.6 ± 19.9 | 27.2 ± 20.8 | 0.089 | 29.2 ± 24.7 | 23.8 ± 22.7 | 25.2 ± 16.2 | 23.6 ± 18.2 | −1.28 | −8.91, 6.34 | 0.735 |
1
Values are mean ± SD unless otherwise indicated. BPM, beats per minute; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; SBP, systolic blood pressure.