Takeaway
- Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs) supplementation was associated with improvement in lipid profile, inflammatory markers, and significant improvement in HbA1c among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
- Treatment duration, dosage did not modify these improvements.
Why this matters
- Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) suggest that supplementation with n-3PUFAs may favourably modify cardiometabolic biomarkers in T2DM.
- Previous meta-analyses are limited by insufficient sample sizes and omission of meta-regression techniques
Study design
- Meta‑analysis and meta‑regression of 45 RCTs including 2674 patients with T2DM from inception until 13 July 2017.
- Effect of n-3PUFAs supplementation on lipid profiles, inflammatory parameters, BP and indices of glycaemic control was assessed.
- Funding: Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure at Leeds Beckett University, and the AGADA Diabetes Education and Research Institute.
Key results
- n-3PUFAs supplementation use showed significant reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL; effect size [ES], −0.10; 95% CI, −0.17 to −0.03; P=.007), very LDL (ES, −0.26; 95% CI, −0.51 to −0.01; P=.044), triglycerides (ES, −0.39; 95% CI, −0.55 to −0.24; P≤.001) and HbA1c (ES, −0.27; 95% CI, −0.48 to −0.06; P=.010).
- Use of n-3PUFAs supplementation showed a moderate reduction in levels of TNF-α (ES, −0.68; 95% CI, −1.32 to −0.03; P=.039) and IL-6 (ES, −1.67; 95% CI, −3.14 to −0.20; P=.026).
Limitations
- Risk for bias.
- Small number of trials.
References
References
