Table 1

RCT Evidence of Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Improve Respiratory Outcomes in Asthma


Study groups1






Author, Year, Location: Length & Design
Group 1 (n)/Group 4 (n)
Group 2 (n)/Group 3 (n)
Jadad Total Quality/Allocation Concealment (Internal Validity)
Applicability

ADULTS

Arm, 1988[18] England: 10-wk parallel RCT
3.2 g/d EPA + 2.2 g/d DHA (n = NR)
Olive oil placebo (dose: NR) (n = NR)
4/Unclear
III
Emelyanov, 2002[23] Russia: 8-wk parallel RCT
200 mg/d EPA/DHA + 400 mg/d olive oil (n = 23)
600 mg/d olive oil placebo (n = 23)
5/Unclear
III
Kirsch, 1988[22] USA: 8-wk parallel RCT
4.0 g/d EPA ethyl ester (+ trace DHA) (n = 6)
0.1 g/d EPA ethyl ester (+ trace DHA) (n = 6)
3/Unclear
I
McDonald, 1991[15] Australia: 10-wk crossover RCT
2.7 g/d EPA + 1.8 g/d DHA (n = 15)
15 g/d olive oil placebo (n = 15)
3/Unclear
III
Okamoto, 2000[19] Japan: 4-wk RCT
10–20 g/d perilla seed oil (ALA: NR) (n = 7)
10–20 g/d corn oil (n = 7)
2/Unclear
III
Stenius-Aarniala, 1989[21] Finland: 10-wk crossover RCT
20 mL/d fish oil (EPA+DHA: NR) (n = 36)
20 mL/d olive oil (n = 36)/20 mL/d evening primrose oil (n-6) (n = 36)
2/Unclear
III
Thien, 1993[20] England: 26-wk parallel RCT
3.2 g/d EPA + 2.2 g/d DHA (n = NR)
Olive oil placebo (dose: NR) (n = NR)
4/Unclear
III

CHILDREN

Hodge, 1998[17] Australia: 26-wk parallel RCT
0.72 g/d EPA 0.48 g/d DHA + ALA (dose: NR) via canola diet (n = NR)
n-6: 1.8 g/d safflower oil + 1.8 g/d palm oil + 0.4 g/d olive oil + sunflower diet (dose: NR) (n = NR)
3/Unclear
III
Nagakura, 2000[16] Japan: 10-mo parallel RCT
17.0–26.8 mg/kg/d EPA; 7.3–11.5 mg/kg/d DHA (300 mg/d fish oil) (n = 15)
300 mg/d olive oil placebo (n = 15)
4/Unclear
III

AGE NOT REPORTED

Dry, 1991[24] France: 9-mo parallel RCT
1.0 g/d EPA+DHA (n = NR)
"Placebo" (type & dose: NR) (n = NR)
2/Unclear
X

1Proceeding from highest omega-3, or lowest omega-6/omega-3, fatty acid content of intervention; n-6 = omega-6 FAs; ALA = alpha linolenic acid; DHA = docosahexaenoic acid; EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid; Length = intervention length; Design = research design; n = sample size; pts = study participants; NR = not reported; wk = week(s); mo = month; RCT = randomized controlled trial; Jadad total quality score = /5; Applicability I = greatest applicability to North American population of asthma patients; Applicability II = somewhat narrow applicability; Applicability III = very narrow applicability; Applicability X = insufficient data to determine applicability

Reisman et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2006 6:26   doi:10.1186/1472-6882-6-26