A new study suggests that fish oil may increase the risk of stroke, atrial fibrillation and other heart diseases.
The study, published Tuesday, Journal BMJ Medicinefollowed over 400,000 people aged 40 to 69 in the UK for 12 years. Those people used fish oil supplements regularly.
Fish oil supplements are a source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are widely known to have benefits against cardiovascular disease.
Research has found that fish oil supplements may increase risk for people who don’t have heart disease, but may reduce risk for people who already have cardiovascular disease.
The study found that regular consumption of fish oil supplements increased the risk of developing atrial fibrillation by 13% and the risk of having a stroke by 5% in people with no preexisting heart disease.
In patients with known heart disease, fish oil supplements were associated with a 15% lower risk of atrial fibrillation.
The authors noted that benefits and risks were not observed uniformly over the course of the study, so further research is needed to determine the onset and prognosis of heart disease events and how to use them in combination with fish oil supplements.
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