LONG-TERM METABOLIC EFFECTS OF N-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE

The long-term metabolic effects of n-3 fatty acids were studied in pat ients with coronary artery disease. They were investigated before and 9 mo after bypass surgery. After postoperative randomization, 260 pati ents received 4 g fish-oil concentrate/d (approximate to 3.4 g eicosap entaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids/d), whereas 251 patients comprised the control group. No group differences in the intake of energy and n utrients, apart from n-3 fatty acids, were discerned from dietary reco rds. Compliance was affirmed by analyses of serum phospholipid fatty a cids. Serum triglyceride concentrations were lowered by 19.1% in the f ish-oil group, but no influence on the concentrations of cholesterol o r apolipoproteins A-I and B-100 was seen. The concentrations of plasma glucose and serum insulin and C-peptide were not influenced by fish o il. The activity of liver enzymes increased slightly, but significantl y, in the fish-oil group, whereas no group difference in the serum con centrations of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances was observed. T hus, no adverse metabolic effects of long-term fish-oil supplementatio n assumed to be of clinical importance were seen.