Background and objectives: Epidemiological and interventional studies suggest that a high dietary intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may confer a protective effect against atherosclerotic disease and reduce serum triglycerides levels. The aim of our study was to investigate the effectivity on triglyceride levels and inflammatory markers of a concentrated of n-3 fatty acids in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridaemia.
Subjects: A total of 30 patients (16 males and 14 females) with diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertriglyceridemia (> 200 mg/dl) were included in the study. Patients received two capsules of eicosapentaenoic 465 mg and docosahexanoic 375 mg daily for 12 weeks.
Results: Triglycerides levels and non HDL-cholesterol decreased (326 +/- 113.5 vs. 216.4 +/- 57 mg/dl; p < 0.05) and (103.87 +/- 44 vs. 89.6 +/- 14 mg/dl; p < 0.05), respectively. HDL-cholesterol levels increased (39.6 +/- 10.7 vs. 46.4 +/- 8.7 mg/dl; p < 0.05). C reactive protein decreased (5.98 +/- 3.9 vs. 3.9 +/- 1.6 mg/dl; p < 0.05) and TNF-alpha levels decreased (16.24 +/- 5.5 vs. 13.3 +/- 5.8 pg/dl; p < 0.05), without significant changes in IL-6 levels. In conclusion, an n-3 polyunsaturated intervention improved lipid profile and inflammatory markers in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertriglyceridaemia.