Abstract
Arthritis patients often take fish oil supplements to alleviate symptoms, but limited evidence exists regarding their efficacy. The objective was to evaluate whether marine oil supplements reduce pain and/or improve other clinical outcomes in patients with arthritis. Six databases were searched systematically (24 February 2015). We included randomized trials of oral supplements of all marine oils compared with a control in arthritis patients. The internal validity was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and heterogeneity was explored using restricted maximum of likelihood (REML)-based meta-regression analysis. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to rate the overall quality of the evidence. Forty-two trials were included; 30 trials reported complete data on pain. The standardized mean difference (SMD) suggested a favorable effect (-0.24; 95% confidence interval, CI,-0.42 to -0.07; heterogeneity, I2 =63%.Asignificanteffectwasfoundinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritis(22trials;-0.21;95%CI, -0.42 to -0.004) and other or mixed diagnoses (3 trials; -0.63; 95% CI, -1.20 to -0.06), but not in osteoarthritis patients (5 trials; -0.17; 95% CI, -0.57-0.24). The evidence for using marine oil to alleviate pain in arthritis patients was overall of low quality, but of moderate quality in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 42 |
Journal | Nutrients |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 6 2017 |
Keywords
- Arthritis
- Complementary medicine
- Fish oil
- Joint pain
- Marine oil
- Meta-analysis
- Randomized controlled trials
- Rheumatology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Nutrition and Dietetics