Liu T et al. – No significant effects of n–3 PUFA supplementation on atrial fibrillation (AF) prevention were observed in this meta–analysis. A large–scale trial with higher doses and longer follow–up might be required to rule out the possibility of any treatment benefit.

• MEDLINE, Web of Science and Cochrane clinical trials database were searched until November 2010
• Of 127 initially identified studies, 10 RCT with 1955 patients were finally analysed
• Two blinded reviewers extracted data independently to a predefined form. Disagreements were resolved through discussion and consensus

• n–3 PUFA had no significant effect on the prevention of AF (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.15; p=0.24)
• There was significant heterogeneity among the studies (p=0.002, I2=65.0%)
• Subgroup analysis showed no significant beneficial effect of fish oils in any subset of population