Research paper
Effects of n-3 fatty acids on depressive symptoms and dispositional optimism after myocardial infarction.
Study answer
What this study found
Low-dose EPA-DHA, ALA, or their combination did not improve depressive symptoms or dispositional optimism after myocardial infarction. At 40 months, depressive symptoms on the GDS-15 were not significantly different from placebo: EPA-DHA plus ALA standardized mean difference -0.025 (P = 0.57), EPA-DHA -0.048 (P = 0.28), and ALA -0.047 (P = 0.29); two-way analyses were also nonsignificant. Severe depressive symptoms remained uncommon and did not differ meaningfully from placebo: adjusted OR 1.00 for EPA-DHA plus ALA, 1.29 for EPA-DHA, and 1.40 for ALA. Dispositional optimism results were…
- Study & population
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults after myocardial infarction, a coronary heart disease population.
- Intervention
- Participants received oral margarines for 40 months containing either 400 mg/day EPA-DHA, 2 g/day ALA, both EPA-DHA plus ALA, or placebo margarine with oleic acid substituted for the active oils.
- Key limitation
- Depressive symptoms and pessimism/optimism were low at baseline, leaving limited room for improvement.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND In patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), n-3 (omega-3) PUFA status is low, whereas the risk of depression is increased. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess whether the plant-derived α-linolenic acid (ALA) and the fi…