Using High-Dose Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements to Lower Triglyceride Levels in 10- to 19-Year-Olds
What this study found
High-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation was well tolerated but did not reduce triglycerides significantly more than placebo. In the omega-3 arm, triglycerides fell from 226 ± 24 mg/dL at baseline to 171 ± 18 mg/dL at 3 months and 165 ± 18 mg/dL at 6 months; within-arm changes were -54 ± 27 (P = .02) and -61 ± 31 (P = .03), but between-group differences were not significant (P = .52 and P = .43). LDL increased by 14 ± 6 mg/dL at 3 months (P = .02), while other vascular and anthropometric outcomes were mixed and generally not superior to placebo. The authors concluded that triglyceride…
- Study & population
- Randomized placebo-controlled trial in adolescents 10 to 19 years old with moderate to severe hypertriglyceridemia, recruited from pediatric clinics in Boston, United States.
- Intervention
- Participants in the active arm took four 1-g Lovaza capsules daily by mouth for 6 months, for a total dose of about 4 g/day of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Key limitation
- The trial was small and short, limiting power to detect differences versus placebo and to assess longer-term safety or efficacy.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background. Omega-3 fatty acids supplements lower triglyceride (TG) levels in adults; little pediatric information is available. We evaluated their effect in hypertriglyceridemic adolescents. Methods. Twenty-five patients aged 10 to 19 years with TG levels 150 to 1000 mg/dL were randomized to 6 months double-blind trial of Lovaza (~3360 mg docosahexaenoic acid + eicosapentaenoic acid per day) versus placebo. Results. Baseline mean TG levels were 227 mg/dL (standard deviation = 49). TG levels declined at 3 months in the Lovaza group by 54 ± 27 mg/dL (mean ± standard error; P = .02) and by 34 ± 26 mg/dL (P = .16) in the placebo group. The difference in TG lowering between groups was not significant (P = .52). There were no between-group differences in endothelial function, blood pressure, body mass index, C-reactive protein, or side effects. Conclusions. High-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplements are well tolerated in adolescents. However, declines in TG levels did not differ significantly from Placebo in this small study.