GOED (Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s) has published a meta-analysis of over 40 trials, representing more than 135,000 study participants, substantiating the link between EPA and DHA supplementation and statistically significant risk reductions in several cardiovascular outcomes, appearing online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and slated for Mayo Clinic’s upcoming print issue. The meta-analysis included three of the most large-scale, long-term trials to date on the relationship between omega-3s and cardiovascular outcomes, including ASCEND, VITAL, and REDUCE-IT.
 
The pool of data included studies which investigated daily supplementation of 0.4 to 5.5 grams of EPA and DHA daily. Five studies included dosages lower than 800 mg/day, while 10 studies were conducted with dosages between 800 and 1200 mg daily, and 25 studies involved higher dosages, with the maximum being 5.5 g per day. The weighted average dose received was 1221 mg of EPA and DHA daily.
 
On average, daily supplementation with EPA and DHA resulted in a 35% reduced risk of fatal myocardial infarction, a 13% reduced risk of fatal and/or myocardial infarction, a 10% reduced risk of coronary heart disease events, and a 9% reduced risk of coronary heart disease mortality.
 
The cardioprotective effect appeared to be dose-dependent as well, according to the authors of the study. Adding one gram per day of EPA and DHA to the average dosage was evidenced to reduce the risk of CVD events by 5.8%, and reduce the risk of myocardial infarction by 9%.
 
The authors of the study wrote that one of the key differences in their meta-analysis was the exclusion of any trial that didn’t specifically evaluate controlled EPA and DHA supplementation. Other meta-analyses with differing results included trials in which the experimental group was given dietary advice to “eat more fish,” but were not administered an actual dietary intervention, the authors noted, signifying that the difference inclusionary criteria can make is dramatic.
 
The article’s first author is Aldo Bernasconi, PhD, GOED’s vice president of data science, and the article’s co-authors include Dr. Carl “Chip” LaVie, a cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, and Michelle Wiest, PhD, an epidemiological statistician at the University of Idaho.
 
Following the publication of the study, GOED also issued infographics catered to consumers in its Always Omega-3s campaign, as well as to healthcare practitioners through its Fats of Life campaign, to present the findings to both groups.