Omega-3 fatty acids (2024) and Diabetic Retinopathy

2024
Due to a lack of randomized studies on the protective role of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on diabetic retinopathy (DR), (ASCEND)-EYE, a large-randomized sub-study of (ASCEND) A Study of Cardiovascular Events in Diabetes trial, was designed. A randomized trial randomly assigns participants to different groups to compare the effects of different treatments or interventions.
The 7360 participants (48% of the full ASCEND trial) were diabetics of the United Kingdom, aged 40 years or older. The group took 1 g daily of omega-3 FA for 6.5 years. The study found no clinically meaningful benefits for diabetic retinopathy.
Sammons, E, Buck, G, Bowman, LJ, Stevens, WM, Hammami, I, et al. (2024). ASCEND-Eye: Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Diabetic Retinopathy. Ophthalmology. 131(5): 526-533.