Do you take omega-3? Research flags stroke risk of fish oil supplements

Fish oil supplements, used during pregnancy and to improve cardiovascular and brain health, could increase the risk of heart problems and stroke, new research suggests.

A U.K. study published in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday found that the regular use of fish oil supplements was associated with an increased risk of stroke and atrial fibrillation, which is irregular heartbeat, in the healthy population.

However, taking these supplements could benefit people with a known cardiovascular disease, the study found.

“Regular use of fish oil supplements might have different roles in the progression of cardiovascular disease,” the authors wrote.

Researchers looked at data including more than 415,000 people aged 40 to 69 years between 2006 and 2021 in the United Kingdom.

Richard Bazinet, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said this is an “important study” which adds to a growing body of research that has signalled fish oil supplements potentially leading to atrial fibrillation in the general population.

“The disadvantage of this study is it’s what we call observational, so that means they didn’t randomize healthy and unhealthy people to get fish oil or a placebo group,” Bazinet said in an interview with Global News Friday.

“The other thing that this study points out is that not all fish oil supplements are the same,” he said.

“You can do a bit of homework and check to see if the supplement you’ve been taking has been quality checked for things like antioxidants and heavy metals, to make sure it’s a good source.”

The study authors acknowledged that more research is needed to determine how using fish oil supplements regularly could impact cardiovascular disease events.

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