Regularly taking Omega-3 fatty acid supplements — fish oil supplements, for example — have been linked to certain cardiovascular benefits. However, according to a new meta-analysis published in Circulation, they also increase a person's risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib).
The team tracked data from 81,210 patients who participated in one of seven trials from January 2012 to December 2020. Thirty-nine percent of patients were women, and the mean patient age was 65 years old. The weighted median follow-up was 4.9 years.
While 72.6% of patients were enrolled in trials that tested a lower dose of one gram or less per day, the remaining patients were enrolled in trials that tested doses of more than one gram per day.
Overall, the team reported, the use of marine omega-3 fatty acid supplements was associated with an increased risk of AFib. In addition, the risk appears to increase as the daily dose of these supplements increases.
In addition, in analyses ranked by dose, the hazard ratio (HR) was greater in the trials testing >1g/d compared with those testing ≤1 g/d.
“This meta-analysis adds new evidence regarding the risk of AFib in patients taking marine omega-3 fatty acid supplements,” wrote lead author Baris Gencer, MD, MPH, with the cardiology division at Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland, and colleagues. “The potential risk of developing AFib should be discussed with the patients when prescribing marine omega-3 supplementation, especially when prescribing a higher dosage.”
Gencer et al. noted that post-marketing surveillance for AFib in combination with systematic ascertainment of AFib outcomes in future trials of marine omega-3 supplementation is recommended as a way to better define the risk-benefit ratio across omega-3 formulations.
Read the full study here.
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