Reviews & Perspectives with Dr. Hobart Lee: Omega-3s
Hobart Lee, MD, and Heidi James, MD
Heidi and Hoby discuss the literature on omega-3 supplementation and boil it down to the following bedside-ready points:
- Omega-3 supplementation has not been proven to decrease
- Cardiovascular disease-related death
- Cancer events
- Overall mortality
- There is weak evidence with a high number needed to treat (NNT) that it may decrease
- Non-fatal myocardial infarction events
- Triglycerides
- α-linolenic acid intake may decrease risk of
- Cardiovascular events (NNT >1,000)
- Arrhythmias (NNT 143)
- Heidi and Hoby conclude that there is insufficient evidence to recommend supplementing with any form of omega-3 fatty acids but agree that increasing food sources of linolenic acid may be somewhat beneficial.
References:
https://www.vitalstudy.org
Effects of n−3 fatty acid supplements in diabetes mellitus. ASCEND Study Collaborative Group. N Engl J Med 2018;379(16):1540-1550.
Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Abdelhamid AS, Brown TJ, Brainerd JS, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018;7:CD003177.
