WFF Los Angeles presents Fish Tips
Fish Oil Supplements Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Death -- CRN News September, 1999
Results from an Italian study that involved 11,324 subjects who had suffered a recent heart attack support previously observed benefits of fish oil. The study, published in the Aug. 7 issue of The Lancet, examined the effect of fish oil and vitamin E supplementation over 3.5 years on the combined endpoint of death, nonfatal attack, and stroke. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups -- fish oil supplements, vitamin E supplements, both supplements, or no supplements. The fish oil was supplied as a 1-gram capsule that contained 850-882 milligrams of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in an average ratio of 1:2, and the vitamin E was supplied as 300mg of synthetic alpha-tocopherol. Treatment with fish oil significantly decreased the combined endpoint of death, nonfatal heart attack and stroke, but this benefit was attributable to the reduced risk of overall and cardiovascular death. For the same combined endpoint, no effect was observed with vitamin E supplementation.
Treatment with both supplements showed the same results as fish oil alone, with no apparent increased benefit contributed by vitamin E. The results with vitamin E are inconsistent with earlier American and British studies. One explanation, offered in an accompanying Lancet commentary, is that the Italian study subjects rypically consumed a Mediteranean diet rich in vitamin E and other antioxidants.
