Ning Lin has completed her PhD from Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. She is a Clinical Nutritionist working in Chengdu Military General Hospital. She has published more than 19 papers in both English and Chinese journals and has also published 6 book chapters in Chinese.

To explore the possible role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in lowering inflammation markers in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. PubMed, CNKI and Cochrane databases were searched until December 30, 2015; references from papers or reviews were also retrieved and screened. Screening was performed by two independent researchers, and randomized controlled trials reporting the specific n-3 PUFAs type, dose, frequency, and duration of treatment, as well as the baseline and follow-up concentrations of inflammation markers, including interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP), were selected for final analysis. Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. Eight studies involving 955 participants were included; all reported CRP. Only one included study reported IL-2 or IL-6 while two studies reported TNF-α. N-3 PUFAs significantly reduced CRP concentration compared with control [SMD 95% CI, 1.90 (0.64, 3.16), Z=2.96, P=0.003 and random effect model]. N-3 PUFAs decreased the CRP concentration in type-2 diabetes mellitus. However, larger and rigorously designed RCTs are required to confirm this finding and extend it into other inflammatory biomarkers.