Real-World Study Finds Many Italians Use Fish Oil Supplements Outside Current Heart Health Guidelines
Researchers analyzed prescription records from a local health system in Northern Italy covering over 669,000 residents between 2022 and 2024, looking specifically at how EPA/DHA (fish oil) products were being used compared to current cardiovascular guidelines.
They found that about 1 in 4 residents received some type of cholesterol-lowering therapy, and among those, roughly 8% were prescribed EPA/DHA. More than half of these EPA/DHA users were already being treated for existing cardiovascular disease (secondary prevention), and most were men between ages 45 and 79.
A notable finding was that nearly 40% of EPA/DHA users took it alone rather than alongside other cholesterol-lowering medications, including close to 30% of those in secondary prevention. Additionally, about 17% of secondary prevention patients had switched from other lipid therapies, mainly statins, to EPA/DHA.
The researchers noted that current cardiovascular guidelines only support heart-related benefits for a specific purified prescription form of EPA (icosapent ethyl), not general EPA/DHA combination products, suggesting a mismatch between real-world prescribing patterns and the latest evidence.
What this means for you
This study is about prescription-based fish oil use in a clinical/medical setting in Italy, not general dietary supplement use—it highlights a gap between how EPA/DHA products are sometimes prescribed in practice versus what current cardiovascular guidelines specifically support, particularly regarding purified EPA formulations. It does not evaluate the effects of fish oil itself, but rather documents prescribing patterns and guideline alignment.
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Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD · 2026-08-22 · DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2026.104967
Read the original source ↗This summary is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always talk to your healthcare provider before making changes to your supplement routine.