Omega-3 and polyunsaturated fat for prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials

Study answer

What this study found

Increasing long-chain omega-3 supplementation probably has little or no effect on preventing depression symptoms, and it probably has little or no effect on anxiety symptoms as well. For depression prevention, the pooled risk ratio was 1.01 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.10; I2 = 0%), and a sensitivity analysis restricted to better adherence suggested possible increased risk (RR 1.16, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.36). In people with existing depression, evidence for change in severity or remission was very uncertain; one small trial showed a mean difference of -0.94 on the GDS-15 (95% CI -2.27 to 0.39; n = 61).…

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in adults aged 18 years and older, excluding pregnant or seriously ill people.

Intervention

This systematic review evaluated increasing long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, mainly EPA plus DHA, versus lower-dose or control regimens across randomized trials.

Key limitation

Evidence was sparse for several outcomes, especially depression treatment, ALA, omega-6, and total PUFA.

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Original abstract