The research was published online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings on 17 September and will appear in an upcoming print issue.
The meta-analysis, which compiles data from the complete body of scientific evidence — 40 clinical trials representing more than 135,000 study participants — found that EPA+DHA supplementation is associated with statistically significant risk reductions in several cardiovascular outcomes:
- 35% reduced risk of fatal myocardial infarction (MI)
- 13% reduced risk of MI
- 10% reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events
- 9% reduced risk of CHD mortality.
Notably, the protective effect increases with dosage. An additional 1 g/day of EPA+DHA results in an additional
- 5.8% reduction in the risk of CVD events (study results included dosages up to 5.5 g/day.)
- 9.0% reduction in the risk of MI (as above).
The article's first author is GOED's Vice President of Data Science, Aldo Bernasconi, PhD. Article coauthors include Dr Carl "Chip" LaVie, a cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, LA, and epidemiological statistician Michelle Wiest, PhD, of the University of Idaho.
GOED has put in place an extensive communications plan to educate the public and has created infographics for consumers and healthcare practitioners.