H-FABP links to heart risks mostly when omega-3s are low
Highest versus lowest H-FABP tertiles had an MI hazard ratio of 2.23 in people with low omega-3s, but 1.11 in those with high levels.
Heart
In 42,392 UK Biobank participants free of coronary heart disease and heart failure at baseline, researchers evaluated long-term cardiac risks associated with heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP). Plasma H-FABP was measured using the Olink platform, and multivariable Cox regression assessed its relationship with incident events and omega-3 fatty acids. Overall, the highest H-FABP tertile faced increased risk compared to the lowest tertile for coronary heart disease (HR 1.29), myocardial infarction (HR 1.54), coronary heart disease-related mortality (HR 2.04), and heart failure (HR 1.95). Plasma omega-3 levels significantly modified these risks for coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Among participants with lower omega-3 levels, extreme H-FABP tertiles showed hazard ratios of 1.41 for coronary heart disease and 2.23 for myocardial infarction, compared to 1.15 and 1.11 among those with higher omega-3s.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular diseases are leading contributors to age-related illness and mortality. Understanding how lipid-handling proteins like H-FABP interact with circulating fatty acids may improve cardiovascular risk profiling in older populations.
Caveats
The observational design in the UK Biobank establishes statistical associations rather than direct causation. The abstract does not detail whether these findings generalize to non-European or more diverse populations.
The paper
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Zhong-yue Liu, Fei Fang, Meng-Yuan Miao, Li-Qiang Qin, Chenglin Song, Haipeng Wang,Soochow University
Heart · 1 Oct 2026