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Many people take ω-3 fatty acid (“fish oil”) supplements for cardiovascular (CV) prevention, but clinical trials on these supplements' effects have yielded inconsistent results. In the VITAL study — a large U.S. randomized primary prevention trial — nearly 26,000 middle-aged and older adults (mean age, 67) with no history of CV disease, cancer, or other serious disorders received either daily fish-oil capsules (containing 460 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and 380 mg of docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo. (Participants also received vitamin D3 supplements or placebo; we've summarized the vitamin D comparisons separately [NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2018 and N Engl J Med 2018 Nov 10; (e-pub)]).
During a median follow-up of 5.3 years, researchers found …