Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid for the treatment of psychological distress and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

Study answer

What this study found

E-EPA did not show a significant overall benefit over placebo for psychological distress or depressive symptoms in the full sample. Adjusted 8-wk between-group differences were not significant for PGWB, 3.3 (95% CI: -2.9, 9.6; P = 0.2908), HSCL-D-20, -0.08 (95% CI: -0.27, 0.12; P = 0.4311), or HAM-D-21, -1.5 (95% CI: -3.7, 0.7; P = 0.1686). In women without major depressive episode at baseline (n = 91), E-EPA was associated with greater improvement on PGWB, 8.0 (95% CI: 0.6, 15.3; P = 0.034), HSCL-D-20, -0.2 (95% CI: -0.4, -0.01; P = 0.040), and HAM-D-21, -2.7 (95% CI: -5.1, -0.3; P =…

Study & population

Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial conducted in Canada in women aged 40 to 55 years with moderate-to-severe psychological distress during the menopausal transition.

Intervention

Participants received oral ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA) capsules, 3 daily for 8 wk, for a total daily dose of 1.05 g EPA and 0.15 g DHA.

Key limitation

The intervention was short term (8 wk) and the active arm was relatively small, limiting power for the primary analysis and especially for subgroup comparisons.

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Original abstract