Omega 3 fatty acids for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease

Dietary or supplemental omega 3 fatty acids may not alter total mortality, combined cardiovascular events or cancers in people with, or at high risk of, cardiovascular disease or in the general population.

A Cochrane review included 48 randomised controlled trials, with a total of 36 913 subjects, and 41 cohort analyses. Pooled results did not show a reduction in the risk of total mortality or combined cardiovascular events in those taking additional omega 3 fats (with significant statistical heterogeneity). Sensitivity analysis, retaining only studies at low risk of bias, reduced heterogeneity and again suggested no significant effect of omega 3 fats. Restricting analysis to trials increasing fish-based omega 3 fats, or those increasing short chain omega 3s, did not suggest significant effects on mortality or cardiovascular events in either group. Subgroup analysis by dietary advice or supplementation, baseline risk of CVD or omega 3 dose suggested no clear effects of these factors on primary outcomes.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by indirectness (differences in studied patients) and by inconsistency (heterogeneity in interventions and results across studies).

Ədəbiyyat

1. Hooper L, Thompson RL, Harrison RA, Summerbell CD, Moore H, Worthington HV, Durrington PN, Ness AR, Capps NE, Davey Smith G, Riemersma RA, Ebrahim SB. Omega 3 fatty acids for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004 Oct 18;(4):CD003177.