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. 2023 Jan 27;13(2):224.
doi: 10.3390/jpm13020224.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation in the Treatment of Depression: An Observational Study

Seema Mehdi  1 , Kishor Manohar  2 , Atiqulla Shariff  3 , Nabeel Kinattingal  1 , Shahid Ud Din Wani  4 , Sultan Alshehri  5 , Mohammad T Imam  6 , Faiyaz Shakeel  7 , Kamsagara L Krishna  1
Affiliations

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation in the Treatment of Depression: An Observational Study

Seema Mehdi et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

Depression is a common mood disorder characterized by persistent sadness and loss of interest. Research suggests an association between the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet and a reduced risk for depression. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acid supplements in alleviating depressive symptoms in patients with mild to moderate depression. A total of 165 patients suffering from mild to moderated depression were randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, an antidepressant (single agent), or a combination of an antidepressant and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. The clinical features of depression were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) during the follow-up period. A statistically significant improvement in depressive symptoms was observed from baseline to first, second and third follow-ups within each treatment arm as measured by HRDS scores (p = 0.00001). Further, the HDRS scores at the third follow-up were significantly lower in patients on combination therapy of omega-3 fatty acid supplement and antidepressants (arm-3) than the patients on the omega-3 fatty acid supplement alone (arm-1) [Q = 5.89; p = 0.0001] or the patients taking an antidepressant alone (arm 2) [Q = 4.36; p = 0.0068]. The combination of an omega-3 fatty acid supplement and an antidepressant elicited significantly higher improvement in depressive symptoms than the supplement or the antidepressant alone.

Keywords: adjunct therapy; antidepressants; depression; mental health; omega-3 fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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