A Critique on the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Covid-19 Patients 1
A Critique on the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Covid-19 Patients
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A Critique on the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Covid-19 Patients 2
The onset of the coronavirus served as a wake-up call, especially to the world and
precisely to the medical field. The research field for contagious diseases had been abandoned,
and most medical researchers focused on major diseases such as cancer and HIV, as is evident in
the discoveries that have been made in these fields (Cioti, 2020). In the article "The Effect of
Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Clinical and Biochemical Parameters of Critically Ill
Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial" by Dr. Doaei and his colleagues, they
have done thorough research on the effects of acid supplementation on COVID-19 patients. The
article indeed is a marvel and has proven beyond that indeed the Omega-3 fatty acid
supplementation improved the chances of living of the patients (Doaei, 2021), however, some
limitations do present themselves in the method of data collection the individuals chosen for the
trial and not to mention the study was only limited to a small area.
Dr. Doaei and his team conducted the study at Razi hospital in Iran and only had
128participants. The volunteers had to meet certain criteria to participate in the study. First, they
had no history of cardiovascular or lung disease or malignant malignancies and no seafood
hypersensitivity. The participants were divided into three groups, each receiving a different dose
and form of treatment. The first batch received 1000 mg omega-3 containing 400 mg EPAs and
200 mg DHAs, the second received n3-PUFAs, and the third received dietary assistance. All
treatments lasted 14 days. The results showed the intervention group's survival rate and
parameters were higher than the control group. Blood sugar and albumin didn't differ across
groups. The study showed that Omega-3 supplements affected the measured parameters. It
improved respiratory and renal function in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
A Critique on the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Covid-19 Patients 3
The research done was thorough and produced positive results; there was an added
advantage in giving Covid 19 patients fatty acid supplements. Regardless the study still
portrayed a lot of weaknesses in data collection and duration of the study. The researchers had
less than three months to collect and analyze their data, not to mention the treatments of the
participants only took fourteen days. The monitoring of patients during research is important as it
gives the researchers time to determine even the long-term effects of the drug to be introduced
(Hudson, 1995). The research also focused on participants from a specific age group and area.
The participants had to be between the age of 35-85 years. This proves that the supplement may
only work for people in this age group. Medical research requires a lot of diversity for effective
results (Stanford, 2020). The article also focused a lot on people with no underlying conditions;
the limited time of the research probably didn't allow for further study of the effects of the
supplements on other people but do the supplements also work for people with underlying
conditions? The research was limited to a specific sample size and criteria to be met, leaving a
lot of room for misinterpretation of the results (Vick, 2018).
The researchers did an amazing job regardless of the limited resources and not to mention
time; however, for future medical research, time as a resource should be prioritized, and diverse
sample sizes and areas should also be considered for the best results. (Doaei, 2021)
A Critique on the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Covid-19 Patients 4
References
Ciotti, M., Ciccozzi, M., Terrinoni, A., Jiang, W. C., Wang, C. B., & Bernardini, S. (2020). The
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Akbari ME, Shadnoush M, Ghorat F, Mosavi Jarrahi SA. The effect of omega-3 fatty
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Hudson, L. D., Milberg, J. A., Anardi, D., & Maunder, R. J. (1995). Clinical risks for
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Stanford, F. C. (2020). The importance of diversity and inclusion in the healthcare
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Vick, A. D., Baugh, A., Lambert, J., Vanderbilt, A. A., Ingram, E., Garcia, R., & Baugh, R. F.
(2018). Levers of change: a review of contemporary interventions to enhance diversity in
medical schools in the USA. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 9, 53.
