Are fish oil supplements doing more harm than good?

About 20% of adults older than age 60 in the United States frequently use these products with the aim of supporting heart health.

However, a new study finds regular use of fish oil supplements may increase, not reduce, the risk of first-time stroke and atrial fibrillation among people in good cardiovascular health.

Atrial fibrillation, also called AFib or AF, is a type of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, that people often describe as a flutter or pounding in their chests.

"I can see the headline for this study as 'Fish oil supplements: Is it time to dump them or not?'" said cardiologist Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver.

"I say that because over-the-counter fish oil is very seldom recommended, is in none of the guidelines from professional medical societies, and yet that's what most people take," said Freeman, who was not involved in the study.

The study analyzed data on over 415,000 people ages 40 to 69 participating in the UK Biobank, a longitudinal study of the health of people in the United Kingdom. Nearly one-third of those people, who were followed for an average of 12 years, said they regularly used fish oil supplements.

For people without heart issues, regular use of fish oil supplements was associated with a 13% higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation and a 5% heightened risk of having a stroke, according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Medicine.

Over-the-counter fish oil suffers from a lack of purity and consistency, as well as the potential contaminants and heavy metals such as mercury that come with fish, Freeman said.

"In addition, studies over the last 10 years have not been very positive for over-the-counter fish oil," he added. "Fish oil was either having no benefit or in some cases it may harm, such as with stroke and AFib. So that's not new."

In fact, the new study found that people with existing heart disease at the beginning of the research had a 15% lower risk of progressing from atrial fibrillation to a heart attack and a 9% lower risk of progressing from heart failure to death when they regularly used fish oil.





https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/22/health/fish-oil-supplement-dangers-study-wellness/index.html