Omega-3 supplementation from pregnancy to postpartum to prevent depressive symptoms: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

Daily omega-3 supplementation did not prevent depressive symptoms during pregnancy or early postpartum overall. There were no significant differences between fish oil and placebo in the prevalence of EPDS score at least 11 at any time point, and EPDS trajectories over time were similar between groups. A subgroup signal suggested a greater reduction in EPDS scores from the second to the third trimester among women with a prior history of depression in ITT analyses (-1.0 (-3.0-0.0) vs -0.0 (-1.0-3.0), P = 0.038), with a longitudinal model estimate of β = -3.441; 95%CI: -6.532 to -0.350, P =…

Study & population

Randomized placebo-controlled trial in pregnant women at risk for postpartum depression and with low fish intake, recruited at a public health care center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Intervention

The active intervention was oral fish oil providing 1.8 g/day of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, including 1.08 g EPA and 0.72 g DHA, delivered as six gelatin capsules daily.

Key limitation

The trial was small and may have been underpowered for clinically important or subgroup effects.

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Original abstract