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Pooled review (meta-analysis)

Pooled review of 884 trials: omega-6 supplements were among those lowering heart risk factors

An and colleagues · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2022

Original title: Micronutrient Supplementation to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Points to benefit

Omega-3 supplements lowered heart deaths (RR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88-0.97), heart attacks (RR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.78-0.92) and coronary heart disease events (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.80-0.93).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Pooled review (meta-analysis)
Who or what was studied
884 studies, 883,627 people · Adults in 884 trials of 27 vitamins, minerals and other supplements, including omega-3 fats
What was tested
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements versus control, among many supplements tested
What it measured
The question itself: heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths
Who has a stake
Company stake
One author got lecture fees from Abbott Nutrition; another sits on a Novo Nordisk trial safety board. No fish oil maker named.
Journal
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2022
Source
PubMed record 36480969. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Pools the results of 884 studies with 883,627 people.
  • •A pooled review is only as strong as the studies it pools.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths.
  • –Company stake: One author got lecture fees from Abbott Nutrition; another sits on a Novo Nordisk trial safety board. No fish oil maker named.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a pooled review (meta-analysis), and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths

    11

    7 benefit, 4 no difference

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    3

    1 benefit, 2 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does fish oil prevent heart disease?”

Little or no effect in most trials.

Confidence: moderate. Based on 21 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Part of the finding “Big reviews find little or no overall effect”.
  • Summed up in “What reviews found”: Pooled 884 trials of 27 vitamins, minerals and other supplements in 883,627 people. Omega-3 pills lowered heart deaths (RR 0.93), heart attacks (RR 0.85) and coronary events (RR 0.86). The omega-3 trial count is not given.
  • Open item for a person: An 2022 pools 27 micronutrients; its 884 trials and 883,627 people are not omega-3 only. Stake rests on one author's Abbott Nutrition fees.
  • Also counted on the page “Are seed oils bad for your heart?”.

Other reviews on this question

See all 21 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 3 fields after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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