Popular supplements’ use questioned

Popular supplements’ use questioned

Two popular supplements — omega-3 fatty acids and Ginkgo biloba — may be of limited value, according to two recent studies. Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to have a number of benefits, including lowering triglyceride levels, preventing arrhythmias, decreasing platelet aggregation, and lowering blood pressure. But the fish oil supplement’s ability to prevent major cardiovascular events has been debated in the literature. Twenty studies of nearly 67,000 patients were included in a meta-analysis looking at the effect of omega-3 on all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. After correcting for dose and comorbidities, there was no difference in the absolute or relative risk of any of the outcomes associated with omega-3 supplementation. The authors concluded that marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (JAMA 2012;308:1024-1033).

Ginkgo biloba for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was studied in a randomized, parallel group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adults age 70 years or older who spontaneously reported memory complaints to their primary care physician in France. Patients were randomized to a twice per day 120 mg standardized Ginkgo biloba extract or matching placebo and followed for 5 years. The primary outcome was conversion to probable AD. More than 2800 patients were enrolled with about 1400 patients in each group. By 5 years, 61 participants in the ginkgo group were diagnosed with AD vs 73 in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.60-1.18; P = 0.306). Adverse events were the same between both groups and mortality was roughly the same as well. Sixty-five participants in the ginkgo group had a stroke compared to 60 in the placebo group (P = 0.57). The authors conclude that long-term use of standardized Ginkgo biloba extract did not reduce the risk of progression to AD compared to placebo (Lancet Neurology 2012;11:851-859).