Association Between ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients or Individuals With Established Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: Hospitalized patients and those with medical disorders frequently present with nutritional deficits and systemic inflammation. Whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω-3 PUFA) supplementation improves survival in this vulnerable population is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the potential association between ω-3 PUFAs and all-cause mortality risk in hospitalized or medically ill patients.

DATA SOURCES: We searched the following databases from their inception to October 15, 2025: PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and the Chinese databases China Science and Technology Journal (CSTJ), Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI).

DATA EXTRACTION: Randomized controlled trials comparing ω-3 PUFAs with a placebo or standard therapy were included in the analysis to determine their effects on the composite endpoint of all-cause mortality in hospitalized or medically ill patients. Clinical data were extracted independently, and the quality of each study was evaluated. A quantitative synthesis was then conducted using both fixed- and random-effects models to estimate the mortality risk ratio between the intervention and control groups. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality.

DATA ANALYSIS: We performed statistical analyses using RevMan (version 5.3.3) and R (version 4.4.0) and calculated risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs to evaluate the outcomes.

CONCLUSION

In summary, this meta-analysis demonstrates that ω-3 PUFA supplementation is associated with a significant reduction in the risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, and coronary heart disease mortality among hospitalized patients or individuals with existing medical conditions. Patients with cardiovascular disease or myocardial infarction appeared to derive a greater benefit. These findings suggest that ω-3 PUFAs play a potential role as a beneficial intervention in the primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular outcomes but do not address effects in community-dwelling healthy individuals.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42024620157.