I came across a brief description of this article and searched down the abstract (below). I thought it was fascinating and maybe some are interested.


Vol. 298 No. 12, September 26, 2007 JAMA

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Islet Autoimmunity in Children at Increased Risk for Type 1 Diabetes
Jill M. Norris, MPH, PhD; Xiang Yin, MD, MS; Molly M. Lamb, BA; Katherine Barriga, MSPH; Jennifer Seifert, BS; Michelle Hoffman, RN; Heather D. Orton, MS; Anna E. Barón, PhD; Michael Clare-Salzler, MD; H. Peter Chase, MD; Nancy J. Szabo, PhD; Henry Erlich, MD, PhD; George S. Eisenbarth, MD, PhD; Marian Rewers, MD, PhD


JAMA. 2007;298:1420-1428.

Context Cod liver oil supplements in infancy have been associated with a decreased risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus in a retrospective study.

Objective To examine whether intakes of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are associated with the development of islet autoimmunity (IA) in children.

Design, Setting, and Participants A longitudinal, observational study, the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young (DAISY), conducted in Denver, Colorado, between January 1994 and November 2006, of 1770 children at increased risk for type 1 diabetes, defined as either possession of a high diabetes risk HLA genotype or having a sibling or parent with type 1 diabetes. The mean age at follow-up was 6.2 years. Islet autoimmunity was assessed in association with reported dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids starting at age 1 year. A case-cohort study (N = 244) was also conducted in which risk of IA by polyunsaturated fatty acid content of erythrocyte membranes (as a percentage of total lipids) was examined.

Main Outcome Measure Risk of IA, defined as being positive for insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, or insulinoma-associated antigen-2 autoantibodies on 2 consecutive visits and still autoantibody positive or having diabetes at last follow-up visit.

Results Fifty-eight children developed IA. Adjusting for HLA genotype, family history of type 1 diabetes, caloric intake, and omega-6 fatty acid intake, omega-3 fatty acid intake was inversely associated with risk of IA (hazard ratio [HR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.96; P = .04). The association was strengthened when the definition of the outcome was limited to those positive for 2 or more autoantibodies (HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.09-0.58; P = .002). In the case-cohort study, omega-3 fatty acid content of erythrocyte membranes was also inversely associated with IA risk (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.96; P = .03).

Conclusion Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of IA in children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes.


Author Affiliations: Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Denver (Drs Norris, Yin, and Barón, and Mss Lamb, Seifert, and Orton); The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora (Drs Chase, Eisenbarth, and Rewers, and Mss Barriga and Hoffman); Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine (Dr Clare-Salzler) and Analytical Toxicology Core Laboratory (Dr Szabo), University of Florida, Gainesville; and Department of Human Genetics, Roche Molecular Systems, Alameda, California (Dr Erlich).