Fish oil or statins?
Last Updated Aug 2007
Statin drugs are the biggest-selling drugs in the history of the world, topping
more than $13 billion in sales in the United States alone. Yes, they do reduce
cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular mortality, but how do they compare to the old
standby, fish oil. In a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2005
Apr 11; 165(7):725-30), nearly 100 clinical trials involving 260,000 patients gave
a surprising answer. Fish oil does a much better job of reducing overall mortality
and cardiovascular mortality than statins do. In terms of overall mortality fish
oil was 76 percent better than statins, and in terms of cardiovascular mortality
fish oil was 45 percent more effective than statins. And this was using low-dose
fish oil. Why would fish oil be more effective than statins? First, it reduces
inflammation by reducing arachidonic acid synthesis, whereas statins are the only
drugs known to medicine to increase arachidonic acid. Second, reducing cholesterol
is far less effective than reducing inflammation in reducing mortality. How much
longer will physicians continue to ignore fish oil as the primary treatment for
heart disease? I guess it depends on how much they want to continue to listen to
drug company advertising as opposed to reading the literature.