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4 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Most Cod Liver Oil studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from medium-quality randomised trials published 2000–2022 with a typical study size of 1,156 participants.
Based on 4 studies · 2 RCTs · 35,948 total participants
Confidence
Low1 study in the last 5 years
In over 34,000 Norwegian adults, daily cod liver oil through winter did not reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection, serious COVID-19, or other acute respiratory infections compared with placebo.
Brunvoll SH, Nygaard AB, Ellingjord-Dale M, et al. · BMJ (2022)
In a 9-month double-blind RCT, 39% of rheumatoid arthritis patients on cod liver oil cut their daily NSAID requirement by over 30%, versus only 10% on placebo.
Galarraga B, Ho M, Youssef HM, et al. · Rheumatology (Oxford) (2008)
Young children given daily cod liver oil plus a multivitamin-mineral showed a statistically significant decline in upper-respiratory pediatric visits over the winter, while the control group showed no change.
Linday LA, Shindledecker RD, Tapia-Mendoza J, Dolitsky JN · Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol (2004)
In a Norwegian case-control study, mothers who took cod liver oil during pregnancy had offspring with a lower risk of type-1 diabetes (adjusted odds ratio around 0.30).
Stene LC, Ulriksen J, Magnus P, Joner G · Diabetologia (2000)