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Omega-3 EPA linked to less depression
New research from France
suggests increased blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acid (EPA)
may reduce the severity of symptoms of
depression, particularly in people taking antidepressants.
A study of 1390 subjects from Bordeaux in France reports that EPA
levels in people with depressive
symptoms were on average 0.16 per
cent lower than in normal people, according to data published in
this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"This result adds to the growing body of evidence implicating
long-chain PUFAs in mental disorders,"
wrote the researchers from
the Equipe Epidemiologie de la Nutrition et des Comportements
Alimentaires (INSERM U593) and the University of Bordeaux 2.
Numerous observational studies and uncontrolled trials have reported
the benefits of fish oils and omega-3
fatty acids docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) and EPA on the behaviour and learning, especially in
kids, as
well for improving the symptoms of depression.
"The novel finding of our survey was the significant association
observed between plasma EPA and severity
of the depressive symptomatology (DS) in aged subjects already taking antidepressant
medication," added
the researchers, led by Pascale Barberger-Gateau.
Study details
- The researchers recruited 1390 subjects (average age 74.6, 65 per
cent women).
Symptoms of depressions were evaluated using the Center
for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale,
while blood samples were
taken in order to measure fatty acid levels in the blood.
People with depression were older than control subjects without any
symptoms of depression. They also performed less well on the
Mini-Mental State Examination than their younger control
comparisons.
No significant differences were observed between subjects when the
researchers considered fatty acid percentages and ratios in relation
to depression symptoms, except for EPA levels.
Indeed, plasma EPA was 0.85 per cent in the subjects with
depression, compared to 1.01 per cent in
healthy controls. This
inverse association between EPA and depression was also observed
when the researchers considered people taking anti-depressive
subjects.
Barberger-Gateau and co-workers added that the apparent benefits are
"biologically plausible because
several mechanisms underlying the
association between fatty acids and brain disorders have already
been evoked."
They called for additional studies to support the relationship
between PUFA levels and symptoms of depression, elucidate the
mechanism, and determine if higher omega-3 intake may influence the
development of depression in later life.
"It will also be useful to determine whether clinically depressed
patients with abnormally low EPA
and/or DHA concentrations would
benefit from supplementation," concluded the researchers in the AJCN.
Building the science behind the benefits
-
The Bordeaux study adds to a small but growing body of
studies
reporting benefits of the polyunsaturated fatty acids on mental
health. Last year, researchers from Norway reported that regular and
long-term intake of omega-3 fatty acid-rich cod liver oil may
protect people from symptoms of depression.
The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, followed
21,835 subjects aged between 40 and 49 and 70 and 74 years, and
found that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 29 per cent
lower in regular cod liver oil users than the rest of the
population.
Moreover, a joint Anglo-Iranian study reported that depression
ratings were cut by 50 per cent following daily one gram supplements
of EPA, an effect similar to that obtained by the antidepressant
drug fluoxetine, according to findings published in the Australian
and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
"To our knowledge this is the first report of EPA monotherapy in
major depressive disorder," wrote the researchers from Tehran
University of Medical Sciences and Swallownest Court Hospital in
Sheffield (UK).
When the researchers provided the omega-3 supplement in combination
with fluoxetine, depression ratings were cut by 81 per cent.
Despite this growing number of studies, the science overall is
unsufficient to support a link between omega-3 and depression, said
the British Medical Journal's Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB)
in February 2007.
"Despite observational evidence linking depression with reduced
intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids,
there is no convincing basis for using these nutrients as a [means
of alleviating] the condition," stated the
DTB.
The review also states that, when used in combination with
antidepressant drugs, there is also only limited evidence.
Source:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
May 2008, Volume 87, Number 5, Pages 1156-1162, doi:
"Plasma eicosapentaenoic acid is inversely associated with severity
of depressive symptomatology in the elderly: data from the Bordeaux
sample of the Three-City Study"
Authors: Catherine Feart, E. Peuchant, L. Letenneur, C. Samieri, D.
Montagnier, A. Fourrier-Reglat, P. Barberger-Gateau http://nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=85215
Omega-3 EPA linked to less depression By Stephen Daniells
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