Health Claims and Doses of Fish Oil Supplements in the US
Authors' conclusion
Results of this cross-sectional study suggest that the majority of fish oil supplement labels make health claims, usually in the form of structure/function claims, that imply a health benefit across a variety of organ systems despite a lack of trial data showing efficacy.
Study context
- Population
- Labels of on-market fish oil (and nonfish ω-3 fatty acid) supplements in the US, NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database
- Participants
- 2,819 unique fish oil supplements
- Outcome
- Frequency and types of health claims on fish oil labels (FDA-reviewed qualified health claim vs structure/function claim) and organ system referenced; total daily EPA+DHA dose for supplements from 16 leading manufacturers and retailers
Methodological detailsConducted and data analysed February to June 2022
- Conducted and data analysed February to June 2022
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Health claims on labels
Supplements with ≥1 health claim
2082
73.9%
Of these, FDA-approved qualified health claim
399
19.2%
Of these, only structure/function claims
1683
80.8%
Cardiovascular health claims (most common)
1747
62.0%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Daily dose, 255 supplements from 16 leading brands/manufacturers
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), median [IQR]
- 340 [135-647] mg/d
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), median [IQR]
- 270 [140-500] mg/d
- Total EPA+DHA, median [IQR]
- 600 [300-1100] mg/d
- Daily dose ≥2 g EPA+DHA
- 24 of 255 (9.4%)
Original publication
Health Claims and Doses of Fish Oil Supplements in the US. JAMA Cardiol. Published 1 October 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →