SynthesisHeart (British Cardiac Society)2006
Effect of alpha linolenic acid on cardiovascular risk markers: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Heart (British Cardiac Society), 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 128 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Diet in the Prevention of Hypertension and Management of Blood Pressure: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses of Interventional and Observational Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Pooled it
- Updated Cardiovascular Prevention Guideline of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology - 2019.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2019Guideline
- Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids and incident type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The British journal of nutrition · 2012Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the effects of flaxseed interventions on blood lipids.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2009Pooled it
- Evaluation of Influencing Factors on Metabolism of Land-BasedNutrients · 2023Trial
- The effects of sesame, canola, and sesame-canola oils on cardiometabolic markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: a triple-blind three-way randomized crossover clinical trial.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Effects of improved fat content of frankfurters and pâtés on lipid and lipoprotein profile of volunteers at increased cardiovascular risk: a placebo-controlled study.European journal of nutrition · 2014Trial
- Effects of n-3 fatty acids on major cardiovascular events in statin users and non-users with a history of myocardial infarction.European heart journal · 2012 · on this mapTrial
- Trial
- Dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil lowers blood pressure in dyslipidaemic patients.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2007Trial
- Unlocking the Fatty Acid and Antioxidant Profile of Grape Pomace: A Systematic Assessment Across Varieties and Vintages for Its Sustainable Valorization.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impact of Olive Oil Components on the Expression of Genes Related to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Immature Persimmon (Preventive nutrition and food science · 2023Article
- Effects of Dietary α-Linolenic Acid Treatment and the Efficiency of Its Conversion to Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids in Obesity and Related Diseases.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Effect of Plant-Derived n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Blood Lipids and Gut Microbiota: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Potential health benefits of blueberry and raspberry pomace as functional food ingredients: Dietetic intervention study on healthy women volunteers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Development of Fatty Acid Reference Ranges and Relationship with Lipid Biomarkers in Middle-Aged Healthy Singaporean Men and Women.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Position Statement on Fat Consumption and Cardiovascular Health - 2021.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2021Article
- Effect of alpha linolenic acid on membrane fluidity and respiration of liver mitochondria in normoglycemic and diabetic Wistar rats.Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine whether dietary supplementation with alpha linolenic acid (ALA) can modify established and emerging cardiovascular risk markers.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials identified by a search of Medline, Embase, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CENTRAL), and the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT). PATIENTS: All human studies were reviewed.
main outcome measuresChanges in concentrations of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, triglyceride, fibrinogen, and fasting plasma glucose, and changes in body mass index, weight, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
results14 studies with minimum treatment duration of four weeks were reviewed. ALA had a significant effect on three of the 32 outcomes examined in these studies. Concentrations of fibrinogen (0.17 micromol/l, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.30 to -0.04, p = 0.01) and fasting plasma glucose (0.20 mmol/l, 95% CI -0.30 to -0.10, p < 0.01) were reduced. There was a small but clinically unimportant decrease in HDL (0.01 mmol/l, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.00, p < 0.01). Treatment with ALA did not significantly modify total cholesterol, triglycerides, weight, body mass index, LDL, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, VLDL, and apolipoprotein B.
conclusionsAlthough ALA supplementation may cause small decreases in fibrinogen concentrations and fasting plasma glucose, most cardiovascular risk markers do not appear to be affected. Further trials are needed, but dietary supplementation with ALA to reduce cardiovascular disease cannot be recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.