The Effect of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Omega-3 Supplementation on theComponents of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity: A Systematic LiteratureReview

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (AR) is a chronic disease that causes
deformity in most productive age and can lead to death as disease activity
increases. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have the potential
to complement available therapies in reducing disease activity. Currently,
the effect of omega-3 PUFAs on disease activity components is still unclear.
This study aimed to determine the effect of omega-3 PUFAs’ supplementation
on the components of RA disease activity. Methods: This research is a
systematic study with PRISMA guidelines. Literature identification using
Pubmed, MDPI, and clinicaltrials.gov. The inclusion criteria used were:
giving omega-3 PUFAs, free full-text, RCT, in English or Indonesian, and
assessing disease activity and its components; while the exclusion criteria
were: unpublished, comparisons were inappropriate. Assessment of
literature quality with the Cochrane Collaboration tool.  Results: The study
included six studies from 1994 to 2017. The effect of omega-3 PUFAs is
diversity in changes of disease activity in 4 of 5 studies. Another effect is a
significant reduction in the number of joint pains in the literature by daily
doses above 2.9 grams or at lower doses taking longer, and swollen joints in
2 studies that were only affected in doses above 2.9 grams. Another change
is a significant reduction in pain severity in the studies. Change increases
with higher doses. There are variable LED and CRP changes with minimal
study resources. Conclusion: Omega-3 PUFAs depend on their dose and
administration duration and can, directly and indirectly, affect disease
activity through the influence of most of its components, namely: the number
of joints affected, the degree of pain, but the results of the ESR and CRP
examinations are not sufficient.