Systemic confounders affecting serum measurements of omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with retinal disease

Table 2 Serum omega-3 (A) and omega-6 (B) PUFA levels corrected for potential confounders

	Estimate	std. error	t value	Pr (>\|t\|)
A. omega-3 PUFAs
BMI	0.01	0.02	0.38	0.706
Statin use	0.03	0.25	0.12	0.905
Fasting	−0.37	0.29	−1.29	0.201
Age	0.01	0.01	0.55	0.582
Sex	−0.10	0.21	−0.48	0.635
AMD	0.45	0.31	1.43	0.155
DR	−0.35	0.27	−1.29	0.199
RVO	−0.23	0.35	−0.65	0.516
B. omega-6 PUFAs
BMI	−0.19	0.12	−1.55	0.125
Statin use	−2.16	1.39	−1.56	0.123
Fasting	−5.67	1.63	−3.49	0.001***
Age	0.08	0.04	1.90	0.061
Sex	0.79	1.15	0.68	0.496
AMD	−1.82	1.75	−1.04	0.300
DR	0.37	1.45	0.26	0.798
RVO	−2.22	1.97	−1.19	0.262

When serum lipid measurements were corrected for the possible confounders body mass index (BMI), statin use, fasting, age and sex of the patient, none of the retinal disease categories acted as an independent variable affecting serum lipid levels. Fasting, in contrast, was identified as an independent variable that significantly affects serum omega-6 PUFA measurements.
***signifies p-values ≤ 0.001

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