Evidence mapPaperPMID 37778442Full record

SynthesisAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2023

Effect of Alpha-Linolenic Acid Supplementation on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profile in Individuals with Obesity or Overweight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Shiyu Yin, Hai Xu, Jiayue Xia, Yifei Lu, Dengfeng Xu, Jihan Sun, Yuanyuan Wang, Wang Liao, Guiju Sun

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Inflammation and resolution in obesity.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2025 · on this map
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Shiyu YinDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Hai XuDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; Department of Food Processing and Safety, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China.
Jiayue XiaDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Yifei LuDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Dengfeng XuDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Jihan SunDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Yuanyuan WangDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Wang LiaoDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; China-DRIs Expert Committee on Macronutrients, Chinese Nutrition Society, Beijing, China.
Guiju SunDepartment of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; China-DRIs Expert Committee on Macronutrients, Chinese Nutrition Society, Beijing, China. Electronic address: gjsun@seu.edu.cn.
Ministry of Education · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent worldwide and are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including systematic inflammation, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is a plant-based essential polyunsaturated fatty acid associated with reduced CVD risks. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effects of supplementation with ALA compared with the placebo on CVD risk factors in people with obesity or overweight (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews Registration No. CRD42023429563). This review included studies with adults using oral supplementation or food or combined interventions containing vegetable sources of ALA. All studies were randomly assigned trials with parallel or crossover designs. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used for assessing the risk of bias (Version 1). PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane library databases were searched from inception to April 2023. Nineteen eligible randomized controlled trials, including 1183 participants, were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with placebo, dietary ALA supplementation significantly reduced C-reactive protein concentration (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.38 mg/L; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.72, -0.04), tumor necrosis factor-α concentration (SMD = -0.45 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.73, -0.17), triglyceride in serum (SMD = -4.41 mg/dL; 95% CI: -5.99, -2.82), and systolic blood pressure (SMD = -0.37 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.66, -0.08); but led to a significant increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations (SMD = 1.32 mg/dL; 95% CI: 0.05, 2.59). ALA supplementation had no significant effect on interleukin-6, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all P ≥ 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed that ALA supplementation at a dose of ≥3 g/d from flaxseed and flaxseed oil had a more prominent effect on improving CVD risk profiles, particularly where the intervention duration was ≥12 wk and where the baseline CVD profile was poor.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesAdultalpha-Linolenic AcidCholesterol, HDLDietary SupplementsHumansObesityOverweightRandomized Controlled Trials as Topicalpha-Linolenic AcidCholesterol, HDLalpha-linolenic acidblood lipidblood pressurecardiovascular disease riskinflammationobesityoverweight

Identifiers

PMID37778442
PMCPMC10721518
OpenAlexW4387165788

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.