Association between Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Depressive Symptoms among Patients with Established Coronary Artery Disease: Data from the Heart and Soul Study
Abstract
Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy patients [1, 2] and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with existing CHD [3, 4]. A deeper biological understanding of the causes of depression in patients with cardiovascular disease is critical to improve the prevention and treatment of both conditions [5, 6]. Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of ω–3 fatty acids not only increase CHD risk [7, 8], but may also be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Lower levels of ω–3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), have been associated with depression in both healthy adult populations [9, 10] and in patients with acute coronary syndrome [11, 12]. It is unknown whether low ω–3 fatty acid levels are associated with depression in patients with stable CHD.
We measured red blood cell levels of two ω–3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and assessed depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 987 adults with CHD. The Heart and Soul Study is a prospective cohort study examining psychosocial factors and health outcomes in patients with established CHD. Detailed methods have previously been described [13]. Between 2000 and 2002, a total of 1,024 San Francisco area residents enrolled and completed a baseline study visit. Subjects without frozen blood samples (n = 37) were excluded, resulting in a final sample size of 987. ω–3 fatty acids were blindly measured in…
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.