Omega-3 supplementation → Employment status
Fish-oil buyers are not a random sample of the labor force.
Observational · High confidence
The association does not survive the backdoor. Usually SES, outdoor time, or healthy-user bias.
Mechanism
Omega-3 use clusters with education, income, and other preventive behaviors. Any raw association with unemployment is the bias, not the oil.
Caveats
This edge is about economic outcomes, not triglycerides. Do not export the verdict to cardiology.
Effect
qualitative. Same healthy-user structure as multivitamins.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Omega-3 supplementation → Employment status.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-omega3-employment (atlas updated 2026-08-31).
Papers
- Healthy user and related biases in observational studies of preventive interventions: a primer for physicians
W. H. Shrank, A. R. Patrick, M. A. Brookhart · 2011 · Journal of General Internal Medicine