{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]],"date-time":"2026-09-13T05:04:48Z","timestamp":1789275888282,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00x8ccz20","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100028771","name":"Mayo Clinic Health System","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100028771","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02zzw8g45","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The omega-3 index, defined as the percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in erythrocyte membranes, is an established biomarker of long-term omega-3 fatty acid status and cardiometabolic disease risk in clinical populations. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III men\u2019s and women\u2019s collegiate athletes with an Omega-3 Index below the recommended threshold of 4%. Methods: Fifty (male, n = 21; female, n = 29) collegiate athletes completed a single testing session including anthropometrics, body composition, resting heart rate (HR) and blood pressure assessment, and venous blood sampling for determination of Omega-3 Index, complete blood counts, and lipid profiles. The cardiovascular risk factors examined were total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, body mass index, body composition, waist-to-hip ratio, resting hemodynamics, and blood glucose. Results: Overall, 54% of athletes exhibited an Omega-3 Index &lt; 4%, while 100% had an Omega-3 Index &lt; 8%. Male athletes demonstrated significantly higher Omega-3 Index, total omega-3 fatty acid levels, and lower omega-6:omega-3 ratios than females (p \u2264 0.005; \u03b7p2 = 0.154\u20130.194). Pearson correlation analyses revealed few significant correlations between Omega-3 Index and cardiometabolic disease risk factors, with only weak relationships observed for systolic blood pressure (r = 0.284, p = 0.046) and triglycerides (r = \u22120.348, p = 0.035). Conclusions: Suboptimal omega-3 status was highly prevalent among collegiate athletes, with no participant achieving the cardioprotective Omega-3 Index threshold of \u22658%. Although male athletes demonstrated a more favorable omega-3 fatty acid profile than females, Omega-3 Index exhibited limited correlations with traditional cardiometabolic disease risk factors in this young, healthy population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18182974","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T08:17:42Z","timestamp":1789114662000},"page":"2974","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Relationships Between Omega-3 Index and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors in Collegiate Athletes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Andrew R.","family":"Jagim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Professions Department, University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ward","family":"Dobbs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Kinesiology and Health, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ben","family":"Skramstad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Professions Department, University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ava","family":"Kloehn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biology Department, University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Taylor","family":"Molling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biology Department, University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kari","family":"Johnson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biology Department, University of Wisconsin\u2014La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-1453-3181","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer B.","family":"Fields","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3940-7396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Margaret T.","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kinesiology, Sport, and Hospitality Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s12970-018-0242-y","article-title":"ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: Research & recommendations","volume":"15","author":"Kerksick","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. 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