Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19515737›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of clinical nutrition2009

Meta-analysis of the effects of flaxseed interventions on blood lipids.

An Pan, Danxia Yu, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Oscar H Franco, Xu Lin

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
70citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

70 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Effect of Flaxseed (Nutrients · 2022
    Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Review
  15. The Impact of Flaxseed (Nutrients · 2025
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Flaxseed in Diet: A Comprehensive Look at Pros and Cons.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  19. Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Cancer Properties of Flaxseed.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  20. Review

10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

An PanKey Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Danxia Yu
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried
Oscar H Franco
Xu Lin

Funding

Prostate Cancer: Impact of Fat &Flaxseed Modified DietR01CA085740 · NCI · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI DEMARK-WAHNEFRIED, WENDY · 2002 to 2005
$1.2M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA085740
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeveral clinical trials have investigated the effects of flaxseed and flaxseed-derived products (flaxseed oil or lignans) on blood lipids; however, the findings have been inconsistent.

objectiveWe aimed to identify and quantify the effectiveness of flaxseed and its derivatives on blood lipid profiles.

designA comprehensive literature search was performed on the basis of English reports of randomized controlled trials of flaxseed or its derivatives on lipid profiles in adults, which were published from January 1990 to October 2008. Attempts also were made to access unpublished data. Study quality was assessed by using the Jadad score, and a meta-analysis was conducted.

resultsTwenty-eight studies were included. Flaxseed interventions reduced total and LDL cholesterol by 0.10 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.20, 0.00 mmol/L) and 0.08 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.16, 0.00 mmol/L), respectively; significant reductions were observed with whole flaxseed (-0.21 and -0.16 mmol/L, respectively) and lignan (-0.28 and -0.16 mmol/L, respectively) supplements but not with flaxseed oil. The cholesterol-lowering effects were more apparent in females (particularly postmenopausal women), individuals with high initial cholesterol concentrations, and studies with higher Jadad scores. No significant changes were found in the concentrations of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

conclusionsFlaxseed significantly reduced circulating total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations, but the changes were dependent on the type of intervention, sex, and initial lipid profiles of the subjects. Further studies are needed to determine the efficiency of flaxseed on lipid profiles in men and premenopausal women and to explore its potential benefits on other cardiometabolic risk factors and prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Indexed as

FlaxAnticholesteremic AgentsCardiovascular DiseasesCholesterolCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLFemaleHumansHypercholesterolemiaLignansLinseed OilLipid MetabolismMaleRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSeedsTreatment OutcomeAnticholesteremic AgentsCholesterolCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLLignansLinseed OilTriglycerides

Identifiers

PMID19515737
PMCPMC3361740

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.