Fish oil doses too low to help joints
by Michael Woodhead
Fish oil is being widely used by people with arthritis but in doses that are ineffective, an Australian study shows.
About one in five people with rheumatoid arthritis and 14% of people with osteoarthritis are taking fish oil, a survey of more than 3000 Adelaide residents indicates.
However, researchers at the rheumatology unit at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital also report that the average dose of fish oil used is 1g, which they say is well below the dosage range of 2.6-7.1g shown to have symptomatic benefits in arthritis.
They say the high level of fish oil use in patients with diagnosed arthritis suggests that GPs are recommending it to their patients.
However, they found that fish oil was not being used by people who would most benefit from its effects, such as patients with cardiovascular disease and uncontrolled hypertension.
“Less than one in five [patients] with rheumatoid arthritis were using fish oil, a proven intervention that is safe and inexpensive, with favourable collateral benefits on cardiovascular risk and can reduce reliance on NSAIDs,” they write in the journal Rheumatology (online 27 Jan).
http://www.6minutes.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=436291
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com