Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplements Do Not Help Prevent Depression: Study

Fish oil supplements do not prevent depression and adults without depression need not take the supplements to prevent depression in the future.

Omega-3 fish oil supplements were found to be not beneficial in preventing depression, reveals a largest clinical trial.

The findings are published in JAMA by a team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).

Depression - Symptom Evaluation
Depression occurs due to alterations in the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.

‘Adults without depression need not take fish oil supplements solely for the purpose of preventing depression or for maintaining a positive mood.’

Experts have recommended omega-3 supplements for reducing the recurrence of depression in some high-risk patients, but there are no guidelines related to the use of these supplements for preventing depression in the general population. Also, studies on this topic have generated mixed results.

To provide clarity, the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial-Depression Endpoint Prevention (VITAL-DEP) was designed to test the potential of daily vitamin D and/or omega-3 supplements for preventing depression.

A total of 18,353 adults aged 50 years or older without depression at the start of the trial were randomized to receive vitamin D and/or omega-3 supplements or matching placebos for a median of 5.3 years.

Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

“This study is a significant step. It requires many thousands of people to conduct this type of study of preventing depression in adults—something we call universal prevention—and the participants were taking randomized study pills for between 5 to 7 years on average,” says VITAL-DEP lead investigator and lead author Olivia I. Okereke, MD, MS, director of geriatric psychiatry at MGH and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “So, it is rare to see a long-term randomized trial of this kind.”

Okereke and her colleagues observed no net benefit of omega-3 supplements for preventing depression or boosting mood over the course of the study. Equal attention was given to risk of developing a clinical depression at any point and to overall mood scores for the duration of follow-up.

Herbs that Reduce Anxiety and Depression
Read on to find out which herbs and herbal products are useful and effective in treating the chronic and recurring disorders such as anxiety and depression.

While a small increase in risk of a depression was inside the statistical margin of significance, Okereke says “there was no harmful or beneficial effect of omega-3 on overall course of mood during the roughly 5 to 7 years of follow-up.”

“There are still health reasons for some people, under the guidance of their health care providers, to take omega-3 fish oil supplements. For example, these supplements increasingly have been found to have benefits for cardiac disease prevention and treatment of inflammatory conditions, in addition to being used for management of existing depressive disorders in some high-risk patients,” says senior author JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at BWH, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the parent VITAL trial. “However, our findings indicate there is no reason for adults without depression in the general population to take fish oil supplements solely for the purpose of preventing depression or for maintaining a positive mood.”

How to Handle Depression and Stress while Going Through a Divorce?
Divorce or breakup can be stressful and cause anxiety, depression and panic. Simple ways can help you deal with depression triggered by loss of marriage.

Other authors include Chirag M. Vyas, MBBS, MPH, David Mischoulon, MD, PhD, Grace Chang, MD, MPH, Nancy R. Cook, ScD, Alison Weinberg, MA, Vadim Bubes, PhD, Trisha Copeland, MS, RD, Georgina Friedenberg, MPH, I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, Julie E. Buring, ScD, and Charles F. Reynolds III, MD.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Source-Eurekalert