Negative Cochrane Review on Omega-3s and Cardiovascular Outcomes

There has been some coverage in the media recently on the Cochrane systematic review, a review of randomised clinical trials (RTCs) which concluded that EPA and DHA have no heart health benefits.

A few points of contention from this review have been outlined below.

1. The review focuses on only part of the existing evidence, and contradicts previous meta-analyses that focused more carefully on some of the most relevant outcomes: cardiac death, blood pressure, and triglycerides.
2. The way the authors define cardiovascular mortality is non-standard, and using this definition reduced the number of events considered, as compared to other published meta-analyses.
3. There are decades of research showing a cardioprotective effect of omega-3s. This includes meta-analyses, RTCs, epidemiological studies, animal studies and in vitro studies.

For more information or clarification on these points please email [email protected]