Efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in depression: A meta-analysis
Liao Y, Xie B, Zhang H, He Q, Guo L, Subramanieapillai M, Fan B, Lu C, McIntyre RS
Translational psychiatry · 299 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Meta-analysis (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Grants
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (81761128030)
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2019-08-05 · Transl Psychiatry · vol. 9 · issue 1 · p. 190
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Cited
- 420 citations · more than 98% of similar papers · 7.5× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 55 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Fatty Acid Research and Health · Delphi Technique in Research · Eicosanoids and Hypertension Pharmacology
- Keywords
- Meta-analysis, Eicosapentaenoic acid, Funnel plot, Docosahexaenoic acid, Polyunsaturated fatty acid, Placebo, Publication bias, Randomized controlled trial, Internal medicine, Medicine, Depression (economics), Gastroenterology, Fatty acid, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pathology
- MeSH
- humans, fatty acids, omega-3, treatment outcome, double-blind method, depressive disorder, randomized controlled trials as topic
9 authors
From CN, CA
- Yuhua LiaoShenzhen Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control
- Bo XieShenzhen Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control
- Huimin ZhangShenzhen Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control
- Qian HeShenzhen Nanshan Center for Chronic Disease Control
- Lan GuoSun Yat-sen University
- Mehala SubramanieapillaiUniversity Health Network; University of Toronto
Abstract
We conducted this meta-analysis of double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trials to estimate the efficacy of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), in the improvement of depression. We applied a systematic bibliographic search in PubMed and EMBASE for articles published prior to 20 December 2017. This meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and R 3.4.3, and means and standard deviations were calculated in fixed- or random-effects models based on the results of the Q-test. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the stability of the results, and publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot and Egger's linear regression analysis. Our search resulted in 180 articles; we analyzed 26 studies, which included 2160 participants. The meta-analysis showed an overall beneficial effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on depression symptoms (SMD = -0.28, P = 0.004). Compared with placebo, EPA-pure (=100% EPA) and EPA-major formulations (≥60% EPA) demonstrated clinical benefits with an EPA dosage ≤1 g/d (SMD = -0.50, P = 0.003, and SMD = -1.03, P = 0.03, respectively), whereas DHA-pure and DHA-major formulations did not exhibit such benefits.Current evidence supports the finding that omega-3 PUFAs with EPA ≥ 60% at a dosage of ≤1 g/d would have beneficial effects on depression. Further studies are warranted to examine supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs for specific subgroups of subjects with inflammation, severity of depression, and the dose response for both EPA and DHA supplementation.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
Community trust
Loading…
How much do you trust this study's findings?
Comments
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inSomething wrong here?
Flag this study if its information, labels or funding look wrong. An editor reviews every flag.
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inEducational information about published research. Not medical advice, and not a recommendation to start or stop anything.