Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35880828›Full record

Trial reportThe American journal of clinical nutrition2022

Krill oil improved osteoarthritic knee pain in adults with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis: a 6-month multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Welma Stonehouse, Bianca Benassi-Evans, Jana Bednarz, Andrew D Vincent, Stephen Hall, Catherine L Hill

Erratum issued 2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · hybridAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 47 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
10.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03483090 phase2completednot on this map

A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled Study to Investigate the Effect on Knee Pain Reduction and Safety of Swisse High Strength Deep Sea Krill Oil (Superba BOOST) in Adults With Mild to Moderate Osteoarthritis of the Knee

TypeinterventionalSponsorSwisse Wellness Pty LtdRan2018 to 2019Enrolled235ConditionsOsteoarthritis, KneeArmsSwisse High Strength Deep Sea Krill Oil, Placebo
NCT06580912 phase2completednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Krill Oil for Pain and Physical Function in Older Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of FloridaRan2025 to 2025Enrolled40ConditionsChronic Musculoskeletal PainArmsKrill oil, Mixed vegetable oil
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

47 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Welma StonehouseHealth and Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2856-4962
Bianca Benassi-EvansHealth and Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Jana BednarzAdelaide Health Technology Assessment, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Andrew D VincentFreemasons Centre for Male Health & Wellbeing, School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Stephen HallEmeritus Research Pty Ltd, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia.
Catherine L HillRheumatology Unit, The Queen Elizabeth and Royal Adelaide Hospitals, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
CSIRO Health and Biosecurity · AUFreemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health · AUMonash University · AURoyal Adelaide Hospital · AUThe University of Adelaide · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of chronic pain and disability worldwide. Treatment generally focuses on symptom relief through nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics, which may incur side effects. Krill oil, rich in anti-inflammatory long-chain (LC) omega-3 ( ω-3) PUFAs and astaxanthin, may be a safe and effective alternative treatment.

objectivesThis study sought to investigate the effects of a commercially available krill oil supplement on knee pain in adults with mild to moderate knee OA. Secondary outcomes were knee stiffness; physical function; NSAID use; Omega-3 Index; and lipid, inflammatory, and safety markers.

methodsHealthy adults (n = 235, 40-65 y old, BMI >18.5 to <35 kg/m2), clinically diagnosed with mild to moderate knee OA, regular knee pain, and consuming <0.5 g/d LC ω-3 PUFAs, participated in a 6-mo double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial. Participants consumed either 4 g krill oil/d (0.60 g EPA/d, 0.28 g DHA/d, 0.45 g astaxanthin/d) or placebo (mixed vegetable oil). Knee outcomes were assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) numeric scale (normalized to scores of 0-100). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 3 mo, and 6 mo.

resultsOmega-3 Index increased with the krill oil supplement compared with placebo (from 6.0% to 8.9% compared with from 5.5% to 5.4%, P < 0.001). Knee pain score improved in both groups with greater improvements for krill oil than for placebo (difference in adjusted mean change between groups at 6 mo: -5.18; 95% CI: -10.0, -0.32; P = 0.04). Knee stiffness and physical function also had greater improvements with krill oil than with placebo (difference in adjusted mean change between groups at 6 mo: -6.45; 95% CI: -12.1, -0.9 and -4.67; 95% CI: -9.26, -0.05, respectively; P < 0.05). NSAID use, serum lipids, and inflammatory and safety markers did not differ between groups.

conclusionsKrill oil was safe to consume and resulted in modest improvements in knee pain, stiffness, and physical function in adults with mild to moderate knee OA.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03483090.

Indexed as

EuphausiaceaFatty Acids, Omega-3Osteoarthritis, KneeAdultAnimalsAnti-Inflammatory AgentsAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalDouble-Blind MethodHumansPainTreatment OutcomeAnti-Inflammatory AgentsAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalFatty Acids, Omega-3docosahexaenoic acideicosapentaenoic acidknee osteoarthritisknee painkrill oilomega-3osteoarthritis

Identifiers

PMID35880828
PMCPMC9437987
OpenAlexW4285167836

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.