Study of omega-3 supplements for major depression is the largest to date

Fish oil supplements significantly benefited patients who were depressed but not anxious in the largest trial of omega-3 supplements for depression to date.

According to results of the Omega-3D trial, reported at the 9th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry, fish oil improved depression levels as much as what is typically reported with pharmacologic treatments.

In the study, 432 patients with an episode of major depression were randomized to treatment with eicosapentenoic acid (EPA)—an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil— or matched placebo masked with fish odor. Taking 1050 mg per day of EPA for 8 weeks led to significantly better scores in the subgroup of patients with major depression without anxiety.

“We believe our findings are important because depressed patients without comorbid anxiety disorder account for about half of all depressed patients,” Francois Lesperance, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, explained to Medscape Psychiatry.

A large number of studies show links between levels of omega-3’s and depression. It’s now recognized that people who eat more fish, for example, report significantly less depression. Also, people with either low levels of omega-3’s in their blood, or with high ratios of omega-6’s compared to omega-3’s, have higher levels of depression.

Omega-3’s, especially EPA from fish oil, are essential fats for health that must be obtained from food. Besides depression, research shows that omega-3’s benefit blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis, among other conditions.