Fish oil and depression

• omega-3 fatty acids are derived from fish oil, and epidemiologic evidence suggests some relationships between ingestion of fish oil and both cardiac disease and depressive disorder in different cultures. Studies have reported that countries with high rates of fish oil consumption have low rates of depressive disorder (1)
• small studies such as the one by Nemets et al (2) have revealed the beneficial effects of fish oil supplementation in the management of depressed patients
• however in a more recent larger double-blind, placebo-controlled trial; there was observed no effect of fish oil supplementation for 26 week period on mental well-being in the general older population studied (3)

Reference:

• 1. Hibbeln JR, Salem N Jr: Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and depression: when cholesterol does not satisfy. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 62:1-9
• 2. Nemets B et al. Addition of omega-3 fatty acid to maintenance medication treatment for recurrent unipolar depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Mar;159(3):477-9.
• 3. van den Rest O et al. Effect of fish-oil supplementation on mental well-being in older subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Sep;88(3):706-13