Four reviews of omega-3 fatty acids: lipids, asthma, retinitis pigmentosa, and cancer
The literature reviews keep piling up. Here are the take home messages from 4 literature reviews of omega-3 fatty acids this year. One positive, three not positive or too soon to tell.
- Adding omega-3-fatty acids lowers triglyceride levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia
- Few significant effects found
- Impossible to determine whether omega-3 fatty acids alone or combined with other treatments is effective in children or adults with asthma
Retinitis pigmentosa
- Clinical research is preliminary in this field
- Trends in improvement of some retinitis pigmentosa outcomes with omega-3 fatty acids in the higher quality studies
Cancer risk
- No significant associations between omega-3 fatty acid consumption and aerodigestive cancer (lips, mouth, tongue, nose, throat, vocal cords, esophagus, and windpipe), bladder cancer, lymphoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, or stomach cancer
- Mostly no benefit or negative effect on breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, advanced prostate cancer, and skin cancer
- Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids is unlikely to prevent cancer
10/21/06 11:19 JR