Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation improve clinical
symptoms in patients with covid-19: A randomized clinical trial
Abstract
Objective: We hypothesized that omega-3 fatty acids would be an
appropriate adjunct therapy for alleviating the inflammatory response
and clinical manifestation in hospitalized patients with covid-19
disease. Methods: This was a single-blind randomized controlled trial in
Amir-Alam hospital in Tehran. Thirty adult men and women diagnosed with
covid-19 were allocated to either control group (receiving
Hydroxychloroquine) or intervention group (receiving Hydroxychloroquine
plus 2 grams of DHA+EPA) for 2 weeks. Primary outcome of the
intervention including CRP, ESR as well as clinical symptoms including
body pain, fatigue, appetite and olfactory and secondary outcomes
including liver enzymes were determined at the baseline and after
omega-3 supplementation. Clinical signs were measured using
self-reported questionnaires. There were commercial kits for
determination of CRP and liver enzymes concentrations in the serum of
patients. For determination of ESR automated hematology analyzer was
applied. Results: In comparison to control group, patients receiving
omega-3 indicated favorable changes in all clinical symptoms except for
olfactory ((p<0.001 for body pain and fatigue, p= 0.03 for
appetite and p=0.21 for olfactory). Reducing effects of omega-3
supplementation compared to control group were also observed in the
levels of ESR and CRP after treatment (p<0.001 for CRP and
p=0.02 for ESR). However, no between group differences in the liver
enzymes serum concentrations were observed after supplementation
(p>0.05). Conclusion: Current observations are very
promising and indicate that supplementation with moderate dosages of
omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in the management of
inflammation-mediated clinical symptoms in covid-19 patients. Key words:
Covid-19, omega-3, inflammation, clinical symptoms