Reduced levels of Omega-3s found in women with Alzheimer’s disease, study demonstrates

A recently published study tested the link between omega-3 levels and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)¹, finding that women had lower levels of unsaturated plasma lipid levels compared to the control group in the study. The researchers noted that women are disproportionately affected by the neurological disease, demonstrating a higher incidence after age 80 compared to men. This investigation aimed to examine sex-specific single lipids that are associated with AD. The study, “Lipid profiling reveals unsaturated lipid reduction in women with Alzheimer's disease,” was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia in August 2025.

Samples from 841 participants were analyzed, including 306 individuals diagnosed with AD, 165 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 370 controls with healthy cognition. For each sample, 268 single lipids were identified in the plasma of the participants using mass spectrometry-based lipidomics.

Highlighted results noted in the study include:

• Female participants with AD were shown to have lowers levels of highly unsaturated lipids and higher levels of saturated lipids
• 32 lipids were associated with AD in women compared with the healthy female controls, while these changes were not associated with male participants
• Highly unsaturated triglycerides were reduced in women with AD, suggesting a dietary supplementation could lessen the progression of the disease

Limitations of the study included the inclusion of only participants with mainly European descent and the lack of data on lipid-lowering medication use, such as statins.

Overall, the results indicated that more research is needed to investigate the sex-specific lipids associated with AD, along with the mechanisms and potential for interventions in the disease.

“Our study suggests that women should make sure they are getting omega fatty acids in their diet – through fatty fish or via supplements,” explained senior author Cristina Legido-Quigley, PhD, in an August 20 news article from King’s College London². “However, we need clinical trials to determine if shifting the lipid composition can influence the biological trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease."

"Scientists have known for some time that more women than men are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,” explained Asger Wretlind, PhD first author of the study. “Although this still warrants further research, we were able to detect biological differences in lipids between the sexes in a large cohort, and show the importance of lipids containing omegas in the blood, which has not been done before. The results are very striking and now we are looking at how early in life this change occurs in women."

Read more on women and Omega-3 research from the March 2025 issue of Nutritional Outlook.

References

1. Wretlind, A.; Xu, J.; Chen, W.; Velayudhan, L.; Ashton, NJ.; Zetterberg, H.; Proitsi, P.; Legido‐Quigley, C. Lipid profiling reveals unsaturated lipid reduction in women with Alzheimer\'s disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2025, 21(8) DOI: 10.1002/alz.70512
2. King’s College London. Omega-3's could protect women against Alzheimer's. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/omega-3s-could-protect-women-against-alzheimers (accessed 2025-08-26).