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The OmegaQuant full fatty acid report now includes information on percentile ranks for not only the Omega-3 Index, but also for each of the 5 major fatty acid groups and two ratios. The purpose of the percentile ranks it to give the client a perspective of where he or she falls within the normal range of the population. For example, an Omega-3 Index of 5.5% would correspond to a percentile rank of 44%. This means that approximately 44% of the population has a lower Omega-3 Index, and 56% a higher Index.

Since OmegaQuant performs both red blood cell-based tests and dried blood spot-based tests (which generate the same values for the Omega-3 Index, but different values for the other fatty acids reported because of the different sample types), the “populations” used to make the percentile determinations are different. Percentiles on the red blood cell test were determined based on about 11,000 individuals who have had this test, and percentiles on the dried blood spot test were determined based on about 27,000 individuals.