Is fish intake or fish oil supplementation better for people with coronary heart disease? An Australian secondary prevention trial.

In people with coronary heart disease, can consumption of fish and fish oil capsules, estimated to provide similar amounts of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids, achieve similar and significant increases in erythrocyte omega-3 index ?

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12610000718044

Enrollment

Registered

2010-08-30

Start date

2008-09-24

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

We conducted a randomised cross-over dietary intervention trial to compare the effects of 1g EPA+DHA per day from two different sources – fish and fish oil capsules. Subjects were randomised to begin on one arm of the intervention for 12 weeks, followed by a 12-week washout period and finally the alternate arm for another 12 weeks. Various cardiovascular risk markers were measured at each time point. Statistical analyses were performed to compare changes with each intervention, and the changes between the two treatment arms. 11 participants (10 males and 1 female) with a mean age of 50.9 years were recruited from St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne from September 2008 to May 2009. Both treatments increased erythrocyte omega-3 index significantly, while the fish treatment also appeared to have beneficial effects on blood pressure.

Interventions

Subjects were instructed to consume either 2 serves of approximately 150 g of salmon per week, or 6 fish oil capsules per week; each of which was estimated to provide an average of approximately 1000mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per day. In a randomised cross-over design each person consumed fish and fish oil for 12 weeks each, with 12 weeks washout between interventions.

Study design

Allocation

Non-randomised trial

Intervention model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

32 Years to 62 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Coronary heart disease, including but not limited to those with angina, a previous myocardial infarction (MI) and post-coronary artery bypass.

Exclusion criteria

Participants were excluded on the basis of previous stroke; chronic illnesses such as kidney, liver disease and cancer; having an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD); religious, cultural or medical factors preventing compliance with either intervention.

Outcome results