A study commissioned by Australia’s National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) found that EPA and DHA fish oil supplements are a cost-effective way to reduce cardiovascular mortality, but not cost effective against rheumatoid arthritis as an adjunct therapy to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED).

GOED explained that in terms of improving cardiovascular mortality, the report focused solely on secondary prevention in people who had suffered myocardial infarctions, based primarily on the GISSI-Prevenzione and DART studies. It found that the cost of saving one disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) with fish oils was approximately AU $2041, which was significantly below the healthcare costs associated with one DALY. Given the prevalence of people who had already suffered from myocardial infarctions, the cost of administering fish oil interventions in patients would be nearly AU $40 million per year, but could save 19,424 DALYs per year.

In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, the analysis compared the addition of fish oils to an NSAID regimen vs. the same regimen without fish oils based on the theory that fish oils could reduce the NSAID requirements. However, the study found the cost of saving one DALY was more than AU $529,000 due to the minor improvements measured in scientific literature. At this cost, it was not cost effective from a public health perspective to administer fish oils to rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The study also looked at St. John’s Wort in depression, acupuncture for lower back pain and an herbal complex for osteoarthritis, according to GOED. All were found to be cost effective, but none as much as fish oils, for reducing the costs of secondary cardiovascular disease prevention.