The Study
A randomized, crossover, head-to-head comparison of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid supplementation to reduce inflammation markers in men and women: the Comparing EPA to DHA (ComparED) Study.
This study gave people either EPA or DHA pills and saw what happened to their blood markers. Because they randomly picked who got what and didn't tell anyone which pill was which, we can say DHA really did cause some changes in the blood — not just that they happened together. But it didn't follow people for years to see if they got fewer heart problems.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested if DHA or EPA (two types of omega-3 fish oil) works better to reduce inflammation and improve blood fats in people with belly fat and mild inflammation.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 584 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1DHA is better than EPA at improving some heart health markers like triglycerides and HDL, but it also raises LDL more—especially in men—which could be a concern.
- 2The inflammation benefits are clear for some markers but not all.
- 3DHA lowered bad triglycerides by 13.3%, raised good HDL by 7.6%, and lowered the bad cholesterol-to-HDL ratio by 2.5%.
- 4It also lowered IL-18 (an inflammation marker) more than EPA.
- 5But DHA raised LDL (bad cholesterol) by 6.9%—more than EPA’s 2.2%—especially in men.
- 6CRP (another inflammation marker) dropped more with DHA but not enough to be sure.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The American journal of clinical nutrition
Year
2016
Authors
J. Allaire, P. Couture, M. Leclerc, A. Charest, J. Marin, Marie-Claude Lépine, D. Talbot, A. Tchernof, B. Lamarche
Related Content
Claims (6)
In adults with abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, 10 weeks of daily 2.7-gram DHA supplementation lowers C-reactive protein levels by 7.9%, while the same dose of EPA lowers it by 1.8%, with no statistically significant difference between the two.
In adults with abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, taking 2.7 grams of DHA daily for 10 weeks lowers interleukin-18 more and raises adiponectin more than taking the same amount of EPA.
In adults with abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, taking 2.7 grams of DHA daily for 10 weeks raises HDL cholesterol by 7.6% and lowers the total cholesterol to HDL ratio by 2.5%. EPA supplementation at similar doses does not significantly change these lipid measures.
In adults with abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, taking 2.7 grams of DHA daily for 10 weeks raises LDL cholesterol by 6.9%, while EPA raises it by 2.2%, and the rise from DHA is larger in men than in women.
In adults with abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, taking 2.7 grams of DHA daily for 10 weeks lowers triglycerides by 13.3%, which is a greater reduction than the 11.9% lowering seen with the same amount of EPA.
In humans, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) reduces inflammation more than docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.