Seattle researchers have found a link between omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements and an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Scientists have always promoted the health benefits Omega 3 fatty acids . It helps build brain cells and improves cognitive development and is beneficial for heart patients. However, a new study conducted by a team of researchers from Seattle found that there can be some negative effects of Omega 3 fatty acids derived from fish fat or fish oil supplements.
"I think there's a general belief that taking omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, however a study was published two years ago that combined all of the data from all of the clinical trials that looked at it, which found absolutely no effect. (It) surprised me," said Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H. at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, in a press release.
Researchers looked at 834 men that were diagnosed with incident, primary prostate cancers and a comparison group of 1,393 men selected randomly from 35,500 participants in theSelenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), a large randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test whether selenium and vitamin E, either alone or combined, reduced prostate cancer risk. All of them were divided into groups according to their blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers noticed that difference in blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids between the lowest and highest risk groups was about 2.5 percentage points (3.2 percent vs. 5.7 percent).
Researchers found a direct link between high levels of omega 3 fatty acids in the blood and an increased risk of prostate cancer. People with higher blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids had a 71 percent increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. The study also found a 44 percent increase in the risk of low-grade prostate cancer and an overall 43 percent increase in risk for all prostate cancers.
The findings confirm a 2011 study published by the same Fred Hutch scientific team that reported a similar link between high blood concentrations of DHA and a more than doubling of the risk for developing high-grade prostate cancer.
