Coronary heart disease: fish oil also lowers health care costs

In terms of health care spending, Omega-3s are a cost-effective alternative to the exclusive use of drugs in the treatment of coronary artery disease. This is shown by an analysis conducted by Access Economics on behalf of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the University of Western Sydney (Australia).

The economic benefits of Omega-3s

Usingfish oil rich in Omega-3 as an adjunctive treatment to the use of drugs in patients with a history of coronary artery disease results in significant economic savings. This effect on health care expenditure would be due basically to 2 phenomena:

- Reduction in deaths caused by coronary artery disease;

-reduction in the incidence of this type of disease.

The authors of the analysis commented that these results are in line with findings in other studies with an international imprint.

Not only Omega-3

Australian research rightfully places Omega-3s among the remedies belonging to complementary medicine that could play a key role not only for the health of the individual, but also for that of the health care system. Along with the economic benefits of using these fatty acids to treat cardiovascular disease, the study also highlighted those of plant-based preparations. These includeSt. John's Wort, useful in cases of depression, and Phytodolor, an herb used against osteoarthritis. These complementary medicines could save the Australian health care system alone more than $220 million a year.

Hidden benefits

Lynne Pezzullo, director of Access Economics, pointed out the difficulties encountered in attempting to estimate the economic benefits of using complementary medicines. According to the expert, estimates of the benefits associated with the use of these remedies would be even greater if the analyses took into account the benefits associated with keeping people healthy, able to work and out of already overcrowded hospitals. Alan Bensoussan, director of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine, concluded that the use of complementary medicines could make the high costs associated with maintaining good health more sustainable nowadays. The expert points out that this goal could be achieved through better disease prevention and more efficient management of chronic ailments made possible precisely by Omega-3s and other remedies other than traditional drugs.  

Source 

1. Access Economics, "Cost effectiveness of complementary medicines ." http://www.nicm.edu.au/images/stories/research/docs/cost_effectiveness_cm_ae_2010.pdf