Fish Oil Supplementation to Reduce Cardiovascular Event Risk in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis for End-Stage Kidney Disease
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by Nhi Phuong Quynh Le, B.A |
Posted on January 9th, 2026
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Previous study had found that individuals with a higher blood concentration of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids had a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases. Many of the patients undergoing hemodialysis for end-stage kidney disease also affected with cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, these patients have a lower n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids level than normal. With funding from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, a study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular effect of fish oil supplementation in patients undergoing dialysis.
The study was conducted in Canada and Australia, and it included 1228 participants with an average age of 64 years old who had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. These patients were clinically stable and had been receiving hemodialysis 3 to 4 times per week. More than 80% of the participants were being affected by hypertension, and 55% were affected with diabetes.
The patients were randomly assigned to be treated with either placebo containing corn oil or 4 g of fish oil. Specifically, the fish oil contained 1.6 g of EPA and 0.8 g of DHA. After 3.5 years of follow-up, the researchers found that patients treated with fish oil had 43% reduced risk of serious cardiovascular events such as cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. The researchers noted that n-3 fatty acids could inhibit the cardiomyocyte sarcolemma ion channel reducing the risk of arrhythmia that would have caused more severe cardiovascular events. Future studies should examine the effect of fish oil supplementation in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis or having undergone kidney transplantation.
The study was conducted in Canada and Australia, and it included 1228 participants with an average age of 64 years old who had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. These patients were clinically stable and had been receiving hemodialysis 3 to 4 times per week. More than 80% of the participants were being affected by hypertension, and 55% were affected with diabetes.
The patients were randomly assigned to be treated with either placebo containing corn oil or 4 g of fish oil. Specifically, the fish oil contained 1.6 g of EPA and 0.8 g of DHA. After 3.5 years of follow-up, the researchers found that patients treated with fish oil had 43% reduced risk of serious cardiovascular events such as cardiac death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. The researchers noted that n-3 fatty acids could inhibit the cardiomyocyte sarcolemma ion channel reducing the risk of arrhythmia that would have caused more severe cardiovascular events. Future studies should examine the effect of fish oil supplementation in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis or having undergone kidney transplantation.