Recent research into the potential benefits of fish oil has been largely disappointing. But sales of the supplements have continued to rise, according to a new report.
"About 10 percent of U.S. adults use fish oils, most in the belief that they help heart health," study author Dr. Andrew Grey, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said.
He and colleague Dr. Mark Bolland looked at the results of 18 randomized controlled trials - the gold standard in medical research - and six analyses of past trials on fish oil published between 2005 and 2012.
The studies compared the risk of heart disease, cancer, thinking and memory problems and immune, digestive and respiratory conditions among people who were randomly assigned to take fish oil or not.
The researchers also searched for news reports generated by the studies within two weeks of publication. They ranked how favorably the media covered each study on a scale from 1 (very negative toward fish oil) to 5 (very positive).
Only two studies identified a benefit from fish oil. But most media coverage of the studies was very positive, Grey and Bolland wrote Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_143491.html
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