Trial reportJournal of athletic training2019
The Omega-3 Index in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Collegiate Football Athletes.
Trial report in Journal of athletic training, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nutritional interventions to support acute mTBI recovery.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Krill-Oil-Dependent Increases in HS-Omega-3 Index, Plasma Choline and Antioxidant Capacity in Well-Conditioned Power Training Athletes.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Relationships Between Omega-3 Index and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors in Collegiate Athletes.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The Omega-3 Index and Self-Reported Dietary Intake of DHA and EPA in Highly Trained, Elite and World Class (Tier 3-5) Male and Female Athletes: An Australian Based Cross-sectional Study.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Four months of DHA and whey protein supplementation in semi-professional female soccer players: a prospective non-randomized controlled study of omega-3 status, hematological outcomes, and physical performance.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Long-Chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Review
- Dietary Intake of n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Prior to a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Demonstrates a Dose-Response Effect for Neuroprotective Benefits in Male C57BL/6 Mice.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Nutritional Optimization for Brain Health in Contact Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Long-Chain ω-3 Fatty Acids and Neurofilament Light.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- The Intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, the Omega-3 Index in Pregnant Women, and Their Correlations with Gestational Length and Newborn Birth Weight.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Omega-3 Index as a Sport Biomarker: Implications for Cardiovascular Health, Injury Prevention, and Athletic Performance.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- Competitive season effects on polyunsaturated fatty acid content in erythrocyte membranes of female football players.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2023Observational
- Review
- Low Energy Availability (LEA) and Hypertension in Black Division I Collegiate Athletes: A Novel Pilot Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Assessing Omega-3 Intake in Sport: the Brief Food Frequency Questionnaire and the Omega-3 Index in Collegiate Women Soccer Players.Journal of athletic training · 2022Article
- Interassociation Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition Models for the Provision of Nutrition Services From Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in Collegiate Athletics.Journal of athletic training · 2022Article
- Article
- Article
- The effect of omega-3 fatty acids on a biomarker of head trauma in NCAA football athletes: a multi-site, non-randomized study.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextThe essential omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exhibit vital biological roles and are critical for cardiovascular and neurologic health. Compared with the general population, football athletes may be at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Further, those same athletes are also exposed to repetitive head impacts, which may lead to long-term neurologic deficits. Both diets high in ω-3 FAs and supplementation with ω-3 FAs have been reported to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and early evidence suggests a potential neuroprotective effect of supplementation.
objectiveTo determine the (1) erythrocyte content of DHA and EPA, as measured by the Omega-3 Index, expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids, in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football athletes and (2) distribution across the Omega-3 Index risk zones established for cardiovascular disease: high risk, <4%; intermediate risk, 4% to 8%; and low risk, >8%.
designCross-sectional descriptive study.
settingMulticenter trial. PATIENTS OR OTHER
participantsDeidentified data including complete erythrocyte fatty acid profile from the 2017-2018 season, age at time of testing, height, weight, and ethnicity were collected from 404 athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Omega-3 Index.
resultsAbout 34% of athletes (n = 138) had an Omega-3 Index considered high risk (<4%), and 66% (n = 266) had a risk considered intermediate (4%-8%). None had a low-risk Omega-3 Index.
conclusionsThe Omega-3 Index is a simple, minimally invasive test of ω-3 FA status. Our data indicate that football athletes may be deficient in the ω-3 FAs DHA and EPA. The fact that no athlete had an Omega-3 Index associated with low risk suggests football athletes may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease in later life.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.