Comparison of fish oil supplements and corn oil effects on serum lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of fish oil supplements compared to corn oil on serum lipid profiles by performing a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Online databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until 30 December 2022. Pooled effect sizes were reported as the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The Cochrane Collaboration’s risk-of-bias tool was utilized to evaluate the quality of the studies. Lipid parameters, including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), were assessed in the meta-analysis.

Overall, 16 eligible trials were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The results revealed that the fish oil supplements significantly reduced TG (WMD: − 25.50 mg/dl, 95% CI: − 42.44, − 8.57, P = 0.000) levels compared to corn oil. Also, in this study, fish oil supplements had a positive and significant effect on HDL (WMD: 2.54 mg/dl, 95% CI: 0.55, 4.52). There were no significant changes in TC and LDL.

Our findings showed the effects of fish oil supplements on reducing TG and increasing HDL-c compared to corn oil. Further larger and well-designed RCTs are required to confirm these data.