Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people

Ayedh Alqarni; Todd W. Mitchell; Patrick D. McGorry; Barnaby Nelson; Connie Markulev; Hok Pan Yuen; Miriam R. Schäfer; Maximus Berger; Nilufar Mossaheb; Monika Schlögelhofer; Stefan Smesny; Ian B. Hickie; Gregor E. Berger; Eric Y.H. Chen; Lieuwe de Haan; Dorien H. Nieman; Merete Nordentoft; Anita Riecher-Rössler; Swapna Verma; Andrew Thompson; Alison Ruth Yung; G. Paul Amminger; Barbara J. Meyer

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people

Ayedh Alqarni, Todd W. Mitchell, Patrick D. McGorry, Barnaby Nelson, Connie Markulev, Hok Pan Yuen, Miriam R. Schäfer, Maximus Berger, Nilufar Mossaheb, Monika Schlögelhofer, Stefan Smesny, Ian B. Hickie, Gregor E. Berger, Eric Y.H. Chen, Lieuwe de Haan, Dorien H. Nieman, Merete Nordentoft, Anita Riecher-Rössler, Swapna Verma, Andrew ThompsonAlison Ruth Yung, G. Paul Amminger, Barbara J. Meyer^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Division of Psychology & Mental Health (L5)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

People classified as ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis have reduced cellular membrane omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). We aimed to compare omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species from erythrocytes of people with UHR (n = 285) with age-matched healthy controls (n = 120) assessed by mass spectrometry. Lower proportions of PUFA were observed in the UHR group compared to healthy controls; specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 29.3% lower, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was 27.2% lower, arachidonic acid (AA) was 15.8% lower and the omega-3 index was 26.9% lower. The AA to EPA ratio was higher in the UHR group compared to the healthy group. Smoking status had no significant effect on PUFA levels in healthy or the UHR groups. BMI was associated with PUFA levels in the UHR group only and the statistical model only explains 2% of the variance of the PUFA levels. The proportion of nervonic acid was 64.4% higher in the UHR group compared to healthy controls. At a lipid class level, the UHR group had 16% higher concentrations of sphingomyelin (SM) and 46% lower concentrations phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) compared to healthy group. Of the 49 individual molecular phospholipids, twenty-seven phospholipid species were lower in the UHR group. In conclusion, there are clear differences in the proportions of erythrocyte fatty acids and phospholipids between UHR and healthy controls and UHR had higher concentrations of SM and lower concentrations of PE. These differences may represent a promising prodromal risk biomarker in the UHR population to aid clinical diagnosis.

Original language	English
Journal	Schizophrenia Research
Early online date	10 Jul 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020
Publication status	Published - 2019

Keywords

Omega-3 fatty acids
Phosphatidylcholine
Phosphatidylethanolamine
Phosphatidylserine
Phospholipids
Sphingomyelin

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10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

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Alqarni, A., Mitchell, T. W., McGorry, P. D., Nelson, B., Markulev, C., Yuen, H. P., Schäfer, M. R., Berger, M., Mossaheb, N., Schlögelhofer, M., Smesny, S., Hickie, I. B., Berger, G. E., Chen, E. Y. H., de Haan, L., Nieman, D. H., Nordentoft, M., Riecher-Rössler, A., Verma, S., ... Meyer, B. J. (2019). Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people. Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

@article{01711c892f0141f2ac407ac8ca5f23b7,

title = "Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people",

abstract = "People classified as ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis have reduced cellular membrane omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). We aimed to compare omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species from erythrocytes of people with UHR (n = 285) with age-matched healthy controls (n = 120) assessed by mass spectrometry. Lower proportions of PUFA were observed in the UHR group compared to healthy controls; specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 29.3% lower, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was 27.2% lower, arachidonic acid (AA) was 15.8% lower and the omega-3 index was 26.9% lower. The AA to EPA ratio was higher in the UHR group compared to the healthy group. Smoking status had no significant effect on PUFA levels in healthy or the UHR groups. BMI was associated with PUFA levels in the UHR group only and the statistical model only explains 2% of the variance of the PUFA levels. The proportion of nervonic acid was 64.4% higher in the UHR group compared to healthy controls. At a lipid class level, the UHR group had 16% higher concentrations of sphingomyelin (SM) and 46% lower concentrations phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) compared to healthy group. Of the 49 individual molecular phospholipids, twenty-seven phospholipid species were lower in the UHR group. In conclusion, there are clear differences in the proportions of erythrocyte fatty acids and phospholipids between UHR and healthy controls and UHR had higher concentrations of SM and lower concentrations of PE. These differences may represent a promising prodromal risk biomarker in the UHR population to aid clinical diagnosis.",

keywords = "Omega-3 fatty acids, Phosphatidylcholine, Phosphatidylethanolamine, Phosphatidylserine, Phospholipids, Sphingomyelin",

author = "Ayedh Alqarni and Mitchell, {Todd W.} and McGorry, {Patrick D.} and Barnaby Nelson and Connie Markulev and Yuen, {Hok Pan} and Sch{\"a}fer, {Miriam R.} and Maximus Berger and Nilufar Mossaheb and Monika Schl{\"o}gelhofer and Stefan Smesny and Hickie, {Ian B.} and Berger, {Gregor E.} and Chen, {Eric Y.H.} and {de Haan}, Lieuwe and Nieman, {Dorien H.} and Merete Nordentoft and Anita Riecher-R{\"o}ssler and Swapna Verma and Andrew Thompson and Yung, {Alison Ruth} and Amminger, {G. Paul} and Meyer, {Barbara J.}",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020",

language = "English",

journal = "Schizophrenia Research",

issn = "0920-9964",

publisher = "Elsevier BV",

}

Alqarni, A, Mitchell, TW, McGorry, PD, Nelson, B, Markulev, C, Yuen, HP, Schäfer, MR, Berger, M, Mossaheb, N, Schlögelhofer, M, Smesny, S, Hickie, IB, Berger, GE, Chen, EYH, de Haan, L, Nieman, DH, Nordentoft, M, Riecher-Rössler, A, Verma, S, Thompson, A, Yung, AR, Amminger, GP & Meyer, BJ 2019, 'Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people', Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

TY - JOUR

T1 - Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people

AU - Alqarni, Ayedh

AU - Mitchell, Todd W.

AU - McGorry, Patrick D.

AU - Nelson, Barnaby

AU - Markulev, Connie

AU - Yuen, Hok Pan

AU - Schäfer, Miriam R.

AU - Berger, Maximus

AU - Mossaheb, Nilufar

AU - Schlögelhofer, Monika

AU - Smesny, Stefan

AU - Hickie, Ian B.

AU - Berger, Gregor E.

AU - Chen, Eric Y.H.

AU - de Haan, Lieuwe

AU - Nieman, Dorien H.

AU - Nordentoft, Merete

AU - Riecher-Rössler, Anita

AU - Verma, Swapna

AU - Thompson, Andrew

AU - Yung, Alison Ruth

AU - Amminger, G. Paul

AU - Meyer, Barbara J.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - People classified as ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis have reduced cellular membrane omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). We aimed to compare omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species from erythrocytes of people with UHR (n = 285) with age-matched healthy controls (n = 120) assessed by mass spectrometry. Lower proportions of PUFA were observed in the UHR group compared to healthy controls; specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 29.3% lower, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was 27.2% lower, arachidonic acid (AA) was 15.8% lower and the omega-3 index was 26.9% lower. The AA to EPA ratio was higher in the UHR group compared to the healthy group. Smoking status had no significant effect on PUFA levels in healthy or the UHR groups. BMI was associated with PUFA levels in the UHR group only and the statistical model only explains 2% of the variance of the PUFA levels. The proportion of nervonic acid was 64.4% higher in the UHR group compared to healthy controls. At a lipid class level, the UHR group had 16% higher concentrations of sphingomyelin (SM) and 46% lower concentrations phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) compared to healthy group. Of the 49 individual molecular phospholipids, twenty-seven phospholipid species were lower in the UHR group. In conclusion, there are clear differences in the proportions of erythrocyte fatty acids and phospholipids between UHR and healthy controls and UHR had higher concentrations of SM and lower concentrations of PE. These differences may represent a promising prodromal risk biomarker in the UHR population to aid clinical diagnosis.

AB - People classified as ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis have reduced cellular membrane omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). We aimed to compare omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species from erythrocytes of people with UHR (n = 285) with age-matched healthy controls (n = 120) assessed by mass spectrometry. Lower proportions of PUFA were observed in the UHR group compared to healthy controls; specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 29.3% lower, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was 27.2% lower, arachidonic acid (AA) was 15.8% lower and the omega-3 index was 26.9% lower. The AA to EPA ratio was higher in the UHR group compared to the healthy group. Smoking status had no significant effect on PUFA levels in healthy or the UHR groups. BMI was associated with PUFA levels in the UHR group only and the statistical model only explains 2% of the variance of the PUFA levels. The proportion of nervonic acid was 64.4% higher in the UHR group compared to healthy controls. At a lipid class level, the UHR group had 16% higher concentrations of sphingomyelin (SM) and 46% lower concentrations phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) compared to healthy group. Of the 49 individual molecular phospholipids, twenty-seven phospholipid species were lower in the UHR group. In conclusion, there are clear differences in the proportions of erythrocyte fatty acids and phospholipids between UHR and healthy controls and UHR had higher concentrations of SM and lower concentrations of PE. These differences may represent a promising prodromal risk biomarker in the UHR population to aid clinical diagnosis.

KW - Omega-3 fatty acids

KW - Phosphatidylcholine

KW - Phosphatidylethanolamine

KW - Phosphatidylserine

KW - Phospholipids

KW - Sphingomyelin

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068526205&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2019.06.020

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85068526205

SN - 0920-9964

JO - Schizophrenia Research

JF - Schizophrenia Research

ER -

Comparison of erythrocyte omega-3 index, fatty acids and molecular phospholipid species in people at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and healthy people

Abstract

Keywords

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