A new study found that omega-3 fish oil supplements aren’t effective at battling dry eye disease, puncturing a key claim made by companies that produce and sell the supplement.
The study found the supplement proved no better than a placebo at relieving dry eye symptoms, according to a Friday release from the National Institutes of Health that funded the study.
“The trial provides the most reliable and generalizable evidence thus far on omega-3 supplementation for dry eye disease,” said NIH researcher Maryann Redford in a statement.
Fish oil supplements that contain the omega-3 fatty acids have touted claims that they can relieve dry eye disease symptoms.
The study had 535 participants with at least a six-month history of dry eye. Neary 350 people got omega-3 fatty acid capsules and the rest got a placebo.
“Importantly, unlike in most industry-sponsored trials, all participants were free to continue taking their previous medications for dry eye, such as artificial tears and prescription anti-inflammatory eye drops,” NIH said.
After a year, there was no significant difference in the improvements in symptoms between the two groups.
This isn’t the first time that the benefits of fish oil, one of the most popular supplements in the U.S., have been questioned.
Fish oil supplements have been taken for years to prevent heart disease. However, a British report looked at 10 trials that examined whether omega-3 fatty acids help to lower the risk of heart disease.
The trials found that omega-3 had no “significant association with reductions in fatal or nonfatal coronary heart disease.”
“The results provide no support for current recommendations to use omega-3 fatty acid supplements for the prevention of fatal coronary heart disease or any cardiovascular disease in people who have or at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association said.
There is also research into whether fish oil can relieve arthritis symptoms.
