Fish-oil supplement has neutral effects on vascular and metabolic function but improves renal function in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Fatty Acids, Omega-3, published as a randomized controlled trial.

However, the effects of fish-oil supplement on vascular function and metabolic profile in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are unclear.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 97 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Assessment of vascular function with brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and circulating levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and metabolic parameters, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), oxidative stress markers and renal function were examined before and after the supplement.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Fatty Acids, Omega-3 and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Fatty Acids, Omega-3 study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Fatty Acids, Omega-3 could be set against what happens without it.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Brachial Artery, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Dietary Supplements, Endothelium, Vascular and Fatty Acids, Omega-3.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Fatty Acids, Omega-3 in 97 patients.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2010 (Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.