Blackmores Institute

The large population-based prospective cohort study of over 420,000 men and women aged between 40 and 69 years with no cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer at baseline between 2006 and 2010 and followed up to the end of 2018 on their habitual use of supplements, including fish oil.“Habitual fish oil supplementation is associated with a 13% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 16% lower risk of CVD mortality, and a 7% lower risk of CVD events among the general population,” reported the researchers.“In the analyses, adjusted for age and sex, we found a significant inverse association of fish oil use with the risk of all-cause mortality and the incidence of mortality from cardiovascular disease events, myocardial infarction and stroke (all P&lt;0.005).“These associations were independent of risk factors, including sex, age, Townsend Deprivation Index, ethnicity, household income, BMI, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, oily fish consumption, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, major co-morbidities, drug use, and other confounding factors. Furthermore, the protective association of fish oil use against CVD events was somewhat stronger in those with prevalent hypertension,” the authors reported.The study findings accord with the results of several previous studies that found fish oil supplementation is associated with lower risk of CVD outcomes, although the authors point out that there is currently insufficient evidence to show which component of omega-3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, or docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) could be beneficial for CVD outcomes or all-cause mentality.“Several mechanisms could explain the benefits for clinical outcome derived from fish oil supplementation. Firstly, the results of several studies have indicated that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids has beneficial effects on blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, and heart rate, all of which would exert a protective effect against the development of CVD.“Secondly, several trials have shown that omega-3 fatty acids can improve flow-mediated arterial dilatation, which is a measure of endothelial function and health. Thirdly, omega-3s have been shown to possess anti-arrhythmic properties that could be clinically beneficial and; finally, studies have reported that fish oil can reduce thrombosis,” the researchers said.“The results of this large-scale prospective study show that a considerable proportion (31.2%) of the 427 678 participants reported habitual use of fish oil supplements. Moreover, we found that habitual fish oil supplementation was inversely associated with the risk of CVD outcomes and all-cause mortality. These findings indicate that habitual use of fish oils is associated with a benefit for CVD events in the general population, supporting their use for the prevention of mortality from all causes and CVD,” the authors concluded.Source:BMJ 2020. DOI: <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m456" target="_blank">10.1136/bmj.m456</a>

New findings reported in the British Medical Journal have revealed that habitual use of fish oil supplements is associated with a lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

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