Omega-3’s all Hype?
Go to National Public Radio (NPR) Science Friday and listen to an interview, broadcast on 19 July 2013, called, “Fish oil: too much of a good thing?” You will also need to access some additional print interviews and read short sections of two scientific articles to answer the questions in this worksheet. Complete the worksheet and then go to Tasks, Tests and Surveys to answer 10 multiple-choice questions based on the worksheet.
1. Who does Ira Flatow interview in this piece? ______
2. What is the single micronutrient supplement the guest recommends because there is clear data to show that supplements reduce birth defects? ______
3. The guest strongly supports the view that people should ______take supplements because more and more randomized trials are showing ______risks rather than benefits.
4. Go to the Q&A with Alan Kristal and find what could be another explanation for the increased cancer risk seen with fish-derived omega-3 FA (and explain why this is unlikely): ______
5. Go to Association between omega-3 FA supplementation and risk of major cardiovascular disease events: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rizos et. al. JAMA 2012 Sep 12; 308(10):1024-33. The guest mentions this Journal of the American Medical Association article right at the beginning of the interview. What does this study conclude? ______
6. In the Results section of the “Association” article, the authors state that there were 7,044 deaths reported in the 20 studies they reviewed. How many CV-related events were reported, if we assume the sudden deaths were due to arrhythmias? ______
7. Also in the Results section of the “Association” article, the authors state that the largest trial examined included ______participants. Because they are from ______, you would expect these participants to also be consuming omega-3 FA from soy products.
8. Go to the abstract for the second article, Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk in the SELECT trial. Brasky, et. al. JNCI 17 July 2013 105(14). Published online ISSN 1460-2105, Oxford University Press. What does SELECT stand for? ______
9. Ira Flatow’s guest tells you early in the interview how this study came to measure omega-3 fatty acids. When were participants screened for omega-3 levels? ______
10. Go to this press release by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to find out why SELECT was terminated early. Why was it ended? ______