Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation does not affect serum lipids in chronic hemodialysis patients

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that omega-3 fatty acids have an effect on serum lipids and inflammation markers in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients.

The study followed a single-blind, randomized, crossover design.

The study was conducted at the Hemodialysis Unit of the Laikon General Hospital in Athens, Greece.

A total of 25 chronic HD patients were included in the study (16 men, 9 women, age: 51 ± 15 years).

Patients were randomly assigned to one of the following 2 intervention groups: omega-3 fatty acids plus α-tocopherol (920 mg eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA), 760 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 8 mg α-tocopherol in total per day) or α-tocopherol supplement (100 mg/week resulting in 14.2 mg/day) alone for 4 weeks. After a washout period of 4 weeks, the 2 groups were crossed.

Medical history data were collected and anthropometric and nutritional intake evaluation was performed at the beginning and at the end of both interventions. Hematological and biochemical parameters as well as C-reactive protein levels were measured.

No statistically significant results were recorded in the lipidemic profiles of the participants between baseline and the 2 interventions. C-reactive protein levels also did not change significantly between the 2 interventions (5.54 ± 3.33 to 6.70 ± 5.01 mg/L [P = .19] with vitamin E vs. 7.13 ± 5.04 to 6.87 ± 5.24 [P = .78] with omega-3, P overall = .53).

The results of this study do not provide support for the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in HD patients.