Outcome measures during the course of the trial
| Outcome measure | Intervention group | |
| Placebo | Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids | |
| Disability (Oxford Shoulder Score, 0–48; 48 best) | ||
| Baseline | 31.7 (28.9 to 34.5) | 32.0 (29.5 to 34.5) |
| 2 months | 39.9 (37.5 to 42.4) | 38.7 (36.1 to 41.3) |
| 3 months | 39.5 (37.1 to 41.8) | 40.5 (37.9 to 43.1) |
| 6 months | 42.1 (40.4 to 43.8) | 41.6 (39.2 to 44.1) |
| 12 months | 43.1 (41.2 to 45.0) | 43.0 (40.7 to 45.4) |
| Disability (Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, 0–100; 0=best) | ||
| Baseline | 43.1 (21.5) | 38.7 (22.3) |
| 2 months | 25.1 (22.8) | 23.4 (23.1) |
| 3 months | 25.3 (21.1) | 13.9 (18.1)* |
| 6 months | 16.9 (18.3) | 13.3 (19.0) |
| 12 months | 9.9 (2.4) | 11.2 (19.2) |
| Function (Patient Specific Functional Score 0–100; 100 best) | ||
| Baseline | 38.4 (31.8 to 44.9) | 36.8 (30.3 to 43.3) |
| 2 months | 58.4 (50.2 to 66.6) | 64.6 (56.8 to 72.3) |
| 3 months | 68.9 (61.0 to 76.8) | 72.0 (64.6 to 79.5) |
| 6 months | 72.9 (65.3 to 80.5) | 76.6 (69.3 to 83.8) |
| 12 months | 78.8 (70.6 to 87.0) | 80.4 (73.0 to 87.9) |
| Pain (Numerical Rating Scale, 0–10; 0=best) | ||
| Baseline | 6.3 (5.7 to 6.9) | 6.0 (5.3 to 6.7) |
| 2 months | 4.0 (3.2 to 4.8) | 3.8 (2.9 to 4.6) |
| 3 months | 3.5 (2.6 to 4.4) | 2.6 (1.8 to 3.3) |
| 6 months | 3.3 (2.3 to 4.3) | 2.9 (2.0 to 3.7) |
| 12 months | 2.1 (1.3 to 2.9) | 2.1 (1.2 to 3.0) |
| Pain (Short Form 36 bodily pain, 0–100; 100=best) | ||
| Baseline | 47.9 (41.6 to 54.2) | 51.6 (44.7 to 58.5) |
| 2 months | 64.7 (57.8 to 71.5) | 67.3 (61.4 to 73.2) |
| 3 months | 62.2 (55.1 to 69.4) | 71.1 (64.3 to 77.8) |
| 6 months | 73.4 (66.8 to 79.9) | 74.5 (67.0 to 81.9) |
| 12 months | 69.6 (61.9 to 77.3) | 80.2 (73.5 to 86.9) |
| Quality of Life (EQ-5D-3L, −0.5 to 1.0; 1=best) | ||
| Baseline | 0.7 (0.6 to 0.8) | 0.7 (0.6 to 0.8) |
| 2 months | 0.7 (0.7 to 0.8) | 0.8 (0.7 to 0.9) |
| 3 months | 0.8 (0.7 to 0.8) | 0.8 (0.8 to 0.9) |
| 6 months | 0.8 (0.7 to 0.9) | 0.8 (0.8 to 0.9) |
| 12 months | 0.8 (0.8 to 0.9) | 0.9 (0.8 to 0.9) |
| Visual Analogue Scale for quality of life (EQ-5D-3L, 0–100; 100=best) | ||
| Baseline | 72.9 (68.3 to 77.5) | 70.2 (64.1 to 76.4) |
| 2 months | 78.3 (73.5 to 82.0) | 80.2 (76.3 to 84.1) |
| 3 months | 79.3 (75.2 to 83.5) | 82.4 (77.4 to 87.4) |
| 6 months | 82.8 (79.5 to 86.0) | 82.2 (78.0 to 86.3) |
| 12 months | 78.7 (71.3 to 86.0) | 79.1 (73.4 to 84.9) |
| Global perception of change (0–100; 100=best) | ||
| 2 months | 54.1 (43.8 to 64.4) | 55.3 (45.4 to 65.2) |
| 3 months | 66.1 (58.3 to 74.0) | 70.8 (61.9 to 79.7) |
| 6 months | 75.6 (68.2 to 82.9) | 74.2 (63.2 to 85.2) |
| 12 months | 80.0 (72.2 to 87.8) | 78.0 (66.9 to 89.1) |
Summary measures are means (95% CIs) analysed using independent samples t-test and between-group comparison by univariate analysis of covariance adjusted for baseline value, age, gender and body mass index.
*Represents a statistically significant difference