Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Risk of Major Cardiovascular Disease Events

Posted by National Health Index Stroke News Friday, September 21st, 2012

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Jama.jamanetwork.com: 9/12/12

Objective  To assess the role of omega-3 supplementation on major cardiovascular outcomes.

Data Sources  MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials through August 2012.

Study Selection  Randomized clinical trials evaluating the effect of omega-3 on all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

Data Extraction  Descriptive and quantitative information was extracted; absolute and relative risk (RR) estimates were synthesized under a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic and I². Subgroup analyses were performed for the presence of blinding, the prevention settings, and patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, and meta-regression analyses were performed for the omega-3 dose. A statistical significance threshold of .0063 was assumed after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Read More