Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: The Way Forward in Times of Mixed Evidence
Table 3
Current state of evidence for the effects of omega-3 PUFA in published human intervention studies regarding cardiovascular disease.
Type of study
Beneficial effect
Beneficial effect limited to subpopulation
Detrimental effect
No effect
Clinical trials
Lower risk of cardiovascular events and death with open-label omega-3 PUFA treatment (850 mg/d) [18]
High-dose omega-3 PUFA intervention in ICD patients at high risk of arrhythmia—significant protection in patients treated per protocol for 11 months [54]
Administration of 900 mg/d omega-3 PUFA in dysglycemic patients at increased cardiovascular risk had no protective effect [23]
Lower risk of death in patients with heart failure on 1 g/d omega-3 PUFA [55]
No decrease in major cardiovascular events in patients on 500 mg/d omega-3 PUFA [56]
Cardioprotective effect of open-label EPA supplementation in addition to a statin in hypercholesterolemic patients [57]
Administration of 1 g/d omega-3 PUFA in patients after a myocardial infarction showed no benefit [58]
No reduction in cardiovascular events in patients after myocardial infarction with either 400 mg/d EPA + DHA or 2 g/d ALA, or both [21]
No VT/VF protection in ICD patients on 1300 mg/d omega-3 PUFA [59]
No arrhythmia protection in ICD patients on 2 g/d fish oil [60]
Meta-analyses
Current data do not support the concept of increasing omega-3 PUFA or omega-6 PUFA or decreasing saturated fatty acid intake, to reduce cardiovascular risk [61]
No benefit of omega-3 PUFA supplementation in 14 randomized double-blind placebo-controlled studies [22]
No benefit of omega-3 PUFA supplementation in randomized clinical trials assessing cardiovascular endpoints [62]
