Study finds fish oil supplements nearly halve deadly dialysis complication

These patients have incredibly high rates of heart attacks, strokes and more, but a new study has found that an everyday supplement almost halves this risk — saving thousands of lives.

Researchers have discovered a common supplement has significant benefits for thousands of Australians.

A daily dose of fish oil almost halves heart attacks, strokes and other cardiac events in some of our sickest patients, a major new study shown.

An international team, co-led by Melbourne’s Monash University, has found giving fish oil supplements to patients on dialysis for kidney failure “significantly” reduces serious cardiac complications.

About 16,000 Australians are on dialysis, but approximately one in five of them will suffer a heart attack, stroke or other significant cardiac event.

Monash University Adjunct Professor Kevan Polkinghorne, who led the study’s Australian arm, said it was incredible to find such a simple, low-risk intervention could reduce this number.

“Dialysis patients, their risk [of cardiovascular events] is about ten to twenty times higher than the general population,” he said.

“In a field where many trials have been negative, this is a significant finding.

“There’s been so many other studies that haven’t worked.”

A large, daily dose of fish oil had significant benefits for patients with kidney failure on dialysis, a new study has found.

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The study, a joint initiative with Canada’s University Health Network, was published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, which is regarded as one of the world’s top medical journals.

Researchers tracked more than 1200 dialysis patients in Australia and Canada, half of whom took four grams of fish oil — larger than the normal daily dose — every day.

After three and a half years, the rate of serious cardiovascular events — which includes heart attack, stroke, cardiac death and vascular related amputations — was a staggering 43 per cent lower in the fish oil group compared to the placebo group.

Professor Polkinghorne, also a Monash Health nephrologist, said based on these results, he believed suitable dialysis patients should now be offered fish oil.

“If the potential benefits is what we showed, or even half of what we showed, that’s still pretty big,” he said.

“And there were really no side effects from it in the study.”

About 16,000 Australians are on dialysis, and face a significantly higher risk of a serious cardiovascular event. Picture: istock

Patients on dialysis are at a higher risk of cardiovascular complications for many reasons, including the overlap in risk factors for kidney failure and cardiovascular disease.

Prof Polkinghorne said it was not clear exactly why fish oil helped, but noted it was supposed to have anti-clotting, anti-inflammatory and anti-lipid properties.

“Also we know that their [patients’] levels of fish oil is much lower, when you measure them in the blood, compared to the general population,” he said.

“So it may be that in addition to this high cardiovascular risk that we’re trying to treat, they’re relatively deficient as well.”

He said the findings could not be extrapolated to the general population.

“It is interesting because in the general population the studies are mixed actually.

“It’s not entirely clear if they actually work.”

The study was funded by national research grants, in what the team said was a fantastic example of how such funding can lead to genuine, lifesaving changes for patients, and supported by the Australasian Kidney Trials Network.

Originally published as Study finds fish oil supplements nearly halve deadly dialysis complication