Prophylactic effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids monotherapy in preventing recurrent major depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Background Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have demonstrated efficacy as adjunctive treatment for MDD. In fact, fewer studies assessed the prophylactic properties of n-3 PUFAs as monotherapy on the recurrence of MDD. Aims This study aimed to assess the prophylactic effect of n-3 PUFAs monotherapy against recurrent MDD. Methods We conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial to assess the prophylactic effect of n-3 in preventing recurrent MDD. We assigned 60 remitted MDD patients to the n-3 group (n = 30) and placebo (n = 30). Furthermore, we assessed the difference in depression severity and MDD recurrence based on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) at months 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 between groups. The recurrent event of MDD was defined as an HRSD score >20. Furthermore, biochemical parameters in plasma were assessed as the secondary outcomes. Results There was no significant difference in the HRSD score between the n-3 group and placebo each month ( p-value >0.05). However, our findings have implicated that omega-3 monotherapy for MDD contributed to a lower recurrence rate compared to the placebo group at month 6 ( p-value = 0.035). Omega-3 supplementation was superior to placebo to preventing recurrent MDD analyzed using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis over a 6-month study period ( p-value = 0.041). In comparison, the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plasma level of the n-3 group at the end point of study was significantly higher than the…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 60 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Promising Sources of Plant-Derived Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Narrative Review
- Effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake in patients with chronic kidney disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cognition: an updated systematic review of randomized clinical trials
- The role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A narrative review
- Paucity of evidence for a relationship between long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review
- Omega-3 fatty acid nanocarriers: Characterization and potential applications
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.