Fish oil supplementation lowers C-reactive protein levels independent of triglyceride reduction in patients with end-stage renal disease.
BACKGROUND
Inflammation has been identified as a marker for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of fish oil fatty acid supplementation on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.


METHODS
The study uses a double-blind, permuted-randomized, and placebo-controlled experimental protocol. Patients are randomly placed into a fish oil group or a control group. Thirty-three patients in the experimental and control groups ingest 2 soft-gel pills (1 g each) of fish oil supplements containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or placebo at each meal. Patients follow the supplementation protocol for 6 months. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to measure pretest and posttest differences in the variable of interest. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality is used to test whether CRP levels are normally distributed.


RESULTS
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for CRP finds a P value of .273 (KS = .997), revealing that the distribution is normal. ANOVA reveals no statistically significant difference between groups at baseline for CRP (F = 4.118, P = .053). ANOVA reveals a significant main effect (F = 4.29, P = .048) for CRP, with the EPA/DHA group having a significant change in values from pretest (16 mg/dL, standard deviation [SD] = 13.80) to posttest (10.22 mg/dL, SD = 7.87). The placebo group's CRP levels do not change significantly from pretest (13.37, standard deviation [SD] = 7.94) to posttest (13.67, SD = 7.07). An observed power calculation using Cohen's D with a computed alpha of .05 is .588.


CONCLUSIONS
The study demonstrates that consuming 960 mg/d of EPA and 600 mg/d of DHA can lower CRP.
Bowden
Rodney G
RG
School of Education, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76798-7304, USA. Rodney_Bowden@baylor.edu
Wilson
Ronald L
RL
Deike
Erika
E
Gentile
Mindy
M
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D003314:Corn Oil / Q000494:pharmacology; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D014280:Triglycerides; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D003314:Corn Oil; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid