Effect of fish oil supplementation on serum triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and LDL subfractions in hypertriglyceridemic adults

Abstract Background and aims The well-established triglyceride (TG) lowering effect of fish oil is accompanied by an increase in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. Less is known about the differential impact on LDL particle distribution – the smaller particles being associated with a greater risk for atherosclerosis. We aimed to examine the changes in serum concentrations of four subclasses of LDL particles as well as shifts in LDL phenotype patterns (A, B, AB) among hypertriglyceridemic adults. Methods and results This was a secondary analysis from a double-blind, parallel design, placebo controlled trial with 42 adults that experienced significant TG lowering and modest increases in total LDL-C concentrations after 12 weeks of 4 g/d EPA + DHA. Reduction in serum TG concentrations (mean ± SEM) was −26 ±  4 % (−0.81 ± 10.12 mmol/L), p p p Conclusion In this population of hypertriglyceridemic adults, dietary supplementation with fish oil resulted in an increase in total LDL-C concentration which was distributed relatively evenly across the range of smaller and more atherogenic as well as larger and less atherogenic LDL particles.