Method of Fish Oil Administration on Patient Compliance

Adverse Effects

Hyperlipidemias, Dyslipidemias, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Fish Oils

Many patients complain of fishy breath, upset stomach, or heartburn when taking the recommended amount of fish oil. A common recommendation made by pharmacists is to freeze the fish oil capsules to help decrease adverse gastrointestinal effects. Compliance with over-the-counter (OTC) fish oil is a concern considering the high number of capsules taken daily. The hypothesis of this study is that taking fish oil with milk will help lead to better patient compliance with no difference in adverse effects versus other administration methods.

Fish oil has many proposed health benefits such as lowering triglycerides, decreasing inflammation, and reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In order to take the recommended daily dose for hypertriglyceridemia using an OTC fish oil supplement, the daily recommended dose is at least 2 grams (2 capsules) three times a day. The American Heart Association recommends 2-4 grams of omega-3 fatty acid a day to aid in triglyceride reduction. Fish oil is known to cause GI-related adverse effects. Although reported to help, freezing fish oil capsules is inconvenient requiring access to a freezer three times a day. Currently there is a lack of literature to specify the best administration technique or patient compliance data for OTC fish oil supplements. The purpose of this study is to determine an ideal method of taking fish oil. This study will include up to 60 patients that are between the ages of 18-65 years who would be considered generally healthy. Patients will be recruited via e-mails sent to faculty and students of the School of Pharmacy, via flyers in Walgreen's stores, and through word of mouth. The patients will be randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. Each treatment group will be given 180 capsules and instructed to take two capsules three times a day for thirty days with either food, no food, milk, or frozen. At the end of thirty days, the patient will return the bottle with any remaining pills to the investigator and take a survey. The investigators will assess compliance via pill count.

United States