Evidence Hub

Supplementation with omega-3 fish oil has no effect on bone mineral density in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a 2-year randomized controlled trial

Jian-Sheng Chen, Catherine Hill, S. Lester, C. Ruediger, R. Battersby, Graeme Jones, Leslie G. Cleland, Lyn March

Osteoporosis International, 2016

202 participants · 28 citations

Abstract

SummaryThis study aimed to determine the effect of fish oil on bone mineral density (BMD). There were no differences in the 2-year BMD measures between high and low dose groups after adjusting for baseline BMD. This randomized controlled trial did not demonstrate any efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids on bone loss in adults.IntroductionThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether supplementation with high dose omega-3 fish oil could have an impact on BMD.MethodsIn a multicentre, double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) (ACTRN 12607000415404), 202 Australian participants aged ≥40 with knee osteoarthritis (mean age, 61.0 ± 10.0 years; 49 % female) were randomized to receive either high dose (4.5 g eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid daily) or low dose (0.45 g/day) omega-3 fish oil for 2 years. BMD was assessed at baseline and 2 years by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.ResultsIn subjects with baseline and 2-year assessments, mean standardized BMD at baseline for low or high dose group was 1198 ± 198 and 1157 ± 169 mg/cm2, respectively, for the lumbar spine and was 1035 ± 165 and 1017 ± 174 mg/cm2, respectively, for the femoral neck. There were no differences in the 2-year BMD measures between high and low dose groups after adjusting for baseline BMD in the complete case regression analyses (lumbar spine 3.7, 95 % confidence interval (CI) −7.9 to 15.3 mg/cm2 and femoral neck −5.5, 95 % CI −14.9 to 3.9 mg/cm2). The findings did not change with additional…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 202 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free