Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research
Over the years, there has been heightened interest in the health benefits of <i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in reducing chronic diseases such as, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, type 2 diabetes, and acute macular degeneration (AMD). Due to inconsistent findings in th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/4/1001 |
| _version_ | 1797618901668855808 |
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| author | Sandhya Sahye-Pudaruth David W. L. Ma |
| author_facet | Sandhya Sahye-Pudaruth David W. L. Ma |
| author_sort | Sandhya Sahye-Pudaruth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the years, there has been heightened interest in the health benefits of <i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in reducing chronic diseases such as, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, type 2 diabetes, and acute macular degeneration (AMD). Due to inconsistent findings in the evidence, a review to critically examine the plethora of evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in <i>n</i>-3 PUFA research was undertaken. The aim of this review is to study the highest level of evidence and to identify gaps in <i>n</i>-3 PUFA research. RCTs were originally designed for pharmaceutical research and later adopted for nutrition and food-related research. RCTs with active diseases assume that <i>n</i>-3 PUFA will have “drug” like effects, and this high expectation may have led to the inconsistent evidence in the literature. The inconsistency in the literature may be related to varying doses of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA, sources of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA (food vs. supplement; plant vs. marine), type of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA (mixture vs. purified), trial duration, population characteristics, sample size, and genetic variation. For future research, there is a need to distinguish between primary and secondary prevention, and to focus RCTs on primary prevention of chronic diseases by <i>n</i>-3 PUFA which is lacking in the literature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:19:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae3c32edc0354a7cb236572570a3aefa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:19:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae3c32edc0354a7cb236572570a3aefa2023-11-16T22:31:52ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432023-02-01154100110.3390/nu15041001Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 ResearchSandhya Sahye-Pudaruth0David W. L. Ma1Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaDepartment of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaOver the years, there has been heightened interest in the health benefits of <i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in reducing chronic diseases such as, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, type 2 diabetes, and acute macular degeneration (AMD). Due to inconsistent findings in the evidence, a review to critically examine the plethora of evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in <i>n</i>-3 PUFA research was undertaken. The aim of this review is to study the highest level of evidence and to identify gaps in <i>n</i>-3 PUFA research. RCTs were originally designed for pharmaceutical research and later adopted for nutrition and food-related research. RCTs with active diseases assume that <i>n</i>-3 PUFA will have “drug” like effects, and this high expectation may have led to the inconsistent evidence in the literature. The inconsistency in the literature may be related to varying doses of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA, sources of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA (food vs. supplement; plant vs. marine), type of <i>n</i>-3 PUFA (mixture vs. purified), trial duration, population characteristics, sample size, and genetic variation. For future research, there is a need to distinguish between primary and secondary prevention, and to focus RCTs on primary prevention of chronic diseases by <i>n</i>-3 PUFA which is lacking in the literature.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/4/1001cardiovascular disease (CVD)<i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid(<i>n</i>-3 PUFA)cancertype 2 diabetesacute macular degeneration (AMD)randomized controlled trials (RCTs) |
| spellingShingle | Sandhya Sahye-Pudaruth David W. L. Ma Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research Nutrients cardiovascular disease (CVD) <i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid(<i>n</i>-3 PUFA) cancer type 2 diabetes acute macular degeneration (AMD) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) |
| title | Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research |
| title_full | Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research |
| title_short | Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research |
| title_sort | assessing the highest level of evidence from randomized controlled trials in omega 3 research |
| topic | cardiovascular disease (CVD) <i>n</i>-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid(<i>n</i>-3 PUFA) cancer type 2 diabetes acute macular degeneration (AMD) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/4/1001 |
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