炎症元素几乎都存在于眼表面慢性疾病中，例如干眼症。这种炎症性疾病的持续性表明天生和适应性免疫的失调。对于用欧米茄-3脂肪酸减轻炎症的兴趣越来越浓厚。虽然许多体外细胞研究证实了欧米茄-3的抗炎效应，但是不同的人类试验在补充后报告出现不一致的结果。这可能是由于炎性细胞因子代谢（例如肿瘤坏死因子α（TNF-α））的个体间差异造成的，该基因差异可能发挥作用，例如淋巴毒素α（LT-α）基因上的多态性。固有的TNF-α产生影响欧米茄-3的反应，并且与LT-α基因型相关。因此，LT-α基因型可能预测欧米茄-3的反应。使用NIH dbSNP，我们分析了不同种族之间LT-α多态性的相对频率，每个基因型的概率均加权为积极反应。尽管未知的LT-α基因型的反应概率为50％，但是不同基因型之间的反应率有更大的区别。因此，进行基因测试以预测个体对欧米茄-3的反应具有价值。

Elements of inflammation are found in almost all chronic ocular surface disease, such as dry eye disease. The chronicity of such inflammatory disease speaks to the dysregulation of innate and adaptive immunity. There has been a rising interest in omega-3 fatty acids to attenuate inflammation. While many cell-based (in vitro) studies verify the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3, different human trials report discordant outcomes after supplementation. This may be due to underlying inter-individual differences in inflammatory cytokine metabolism (such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)), in which genetic differences might play a role, such as polymorphisms in the lymphotoxin alpha (LT-α) gene. Inherent TNF-α production affects omega-3 response and is also associated with LT-α genotype. Therefore, LT-α genotype might predict omega-3 response. Using the NIH dbSNP, we analyzed the relative frequency of LT-α polymorphisms among various ethnicities, each weighted by the genotype's probability of positive response. While the probability of response for unknown LT-α genotypes are 50%, there is greater distinction in response rates between various genotypes. Hence, there is value in genetic testing to prognosticate an individual's response to omega-3.