Efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in depression: A meta-analysis
Translational Psychiatryvolume 9, Article number: 190 (2019)
Yuhua Liao, Bo Xie, Huimin Zhang, Qian He, Lan Guo, M. Subramaniapillai, Beifang Fan, Ciyong Lu & R. S. Mclntyer
Study found that EPA, not DHA, provided the benefit
Items in both categories Depression and Omega-3 are listed here:
- Overweight needed more EPA (4 grams) to fight depression – RCT Aug 2022
- Anxiety, depression, and suicide have recently surged (Note: Vitamin D, Omega-3, and Magnesium help) – May 2022
- Omega-3 did not prevent depression (they failed to reduce Omega-6, which blocks Omega-3) – RCT Dec 2021
- Mental health not helped by vitamin D monotherapy (adding Omega-3 and Magnesium help) – review Nov 2021
- Benefits of Omega-3 plus Vitamin D were additive – RCT Sept 2021
- Depression treatments: diet, exercise, bright light, Vitamin D, B12, Omega-3, Zinc, Music, etc. – May 2019
- Omega-3 helps treat Major Depression – International Consensus Sept 2019
- Mental disorders fought by Omega-3 etc. - meta-meta-analysis Oct 2019
- Omega-3 reduces Depression. Anxiety, Stress, PTSD, etc. – Aug 2018
- Depression treated by Omega-3 (again) – meta-analysis Aug 2019
- Depression after childbirth 5 X less likely if good Omega-3 index – April 2019
- Occupational burnout reduced after 8 weeks of Omega-3 – RCT July 2019
- Anxiety severity reduced if more than 2 grams of Omega-3 – meta-analysis Sept 2018
- Psychotic disorders not treated by Omega-3 when patents take anti-depressants and get therapy – June 2018
- Happy Nurses Project gave Omega-3 for 3 months – reduced depression, insomnia, anxiety, etc for a year – RCT July 2018
- Depression – is it reduced by Vitamin D and or Omega-3 – RCT 2019
- Benefits of Omega-3 beyond heart health - LEF Feb 2018
- Omega-3 improves gut bacteria, reduces inflammation and depression – Dec 2017
- Unipolar depression treated by Omega-3, Zinc, and probably Vitamin D – meta-analysis Oct 2017
- Omega-3 reduces many psychiatric disorders – 2 reviews 2016
- Omega-3 does not consistently treat depression if use small amounts for short time period – review Oct 2016
- How Omega-3 Fights Depression – LEF July 2016
- Depression due to inflammation reduced by Omega-3 (children and pregnant) – Nov 2015
- Depression treated somewhat by Omega-3 (St. John's Wort better) – RAND org reviews 2015
- Depression substantially decreased with Omega-3 – Sept 2015
- Omega-3 for just 3 months greatly reduced psychosis for 80 months – RCT Aug 2015
- Omega-3 prevents PTSD and some mood disorders - Aug 2015
- Omega-3, Vitamin D, and other nutrients decrease mental health problems – March 2015
- Serotonin regulated by Vitamin D – part 1 autism – Feb 2014
Items in both categories Depression and Meta-analysis are listed here:
- Depression in seniors greatly reduced by Vitamin D (e.g. 50,000 IU) – meta-analysis June 2023
- Depression reduced if take more than 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily – umbrella meta-analysis – Jan 2023
- Depression reduced if use more than 2,800 IU of vitamin D – meta-analysis Aug 2022
- Depression is treated by 2,000 IU of Vitamin D – 2 meta-analyses July 2022
- Depression treated by 50K IU Vitamin D weekly (but not 1,000 IU daily) – meta-analysis Jan 2021
- Mental disorders fought by Omega-3 etc. - meta-meta-analysis Oct 2019
- Depression less likely if more Vitamin D (12 percent per 10 ng) – meta-analysis July 2019
- Anxiety severity reduced if more than 2 grams of Omega-3 – meta-analysis Sept 2018
- Less depression in seniors taking enough Omega-3 – meta-analysis July 2018
- Unipolar depression treated by Omega-3, Zinc, and probably Vitamin D – meta-analysis Oct 2017
- Depression is associated with low Magnesium – meta-analysis April 2015
- Clinical Trials of vitamin D can have “biological flaws” – Jan 2015
- Slight depression not reduced by adding vitamin D if already had enough (no surprise) – meta-analysis – Nov 2014
- Anti-depression medication about as good as big increase in vitamin D – meta-analysis of flawless data April 2014
- Depression might be reduced by vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2014
- Low vitamin D and depression - Study and meta-analysis, April 2013
- 2X more likely to be depressed if low vitamin D (cohort studies) - Meta-analysis Jan 2013
Items in both categories Depression and non-daily Vitamin D are listed here:
- Depression is especially reduced by large intermittent doses of vitamin D – meta-analysis – April 2023
- Anxiety and Depression decreased in senior prediabetics with weekly 25,000 IU of Vitamin D – RCT Sept 2022
- Depression decreased by Vitamin D (12th study in Vitamin D Life) – RCT Nov 2022
- Weekly Vitamin D plus daily Magnesium is great (reduced depression in obese women in this case) – July 2021
- Yet another study confirms Depression is treated by weekly Vitamin D (50,000 IU)– RCT Dec 2019
- Depression decreased after vitamin D (50,000 IU weekly to elderly in the case) – RCT Oct 2019
- Vitamin D treatment of diabetes (50,000 IU every 2 weeks) augmented by probiotic – RCT June 2018
- Vitamin D depression RCT canceled: too many were taking Vitamin D supplements, etc. Feb 2018
- Depression in adolescent girls reduced somewhat by 50,000 IU weekly for 9 weeks – July 2017
- 40,000 IU vitamin D weekly reduced depression in many obese subjects – RCT 2008
- 50,000 IU Vitamin D weekly Improves Mood, Lowers Blood Pressure in Type 2 Diabetics – Oct 2013
Note: Depression is like several other health problems which are treated better than weekly than daily dosing
Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life
Forest plot for Omega-2 (PDF does NOT have forest plot for EPA)
We conducted this meta-analysis of double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trials to estimate the efficacy of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), in the improvement of depression. We applied a systematic bibliographic search in PubMed and EMBASE for articles published prior to 20 December 2017. This meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and R 3.4.3, and means and standard deviations were calculated in fixed- or random-effects models based on the results of the Q-test. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the stability of the results, and publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot and Egger’s linear regression analysis.
Our search resulted in 180 articles; we analyzed 26 studies, which included 2160 participants.
The meta-analysis showed an overall beneficial effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on depression symptoms (SMD = −0.28, P = 0.004).
Compared with placebo, EPA-pure (=100% EPA) and EPA-major formulations (≥60% EPA) demonstrated clinical benefits with an EPA dosage ≤1 g/d (SMD = −0.50, P = 0.003, and SMD = −1.03, P = 0.03, respectively), whereas DHA-pure and DHA-major formulations did not exhibit such benefits.
Current evidence supports the finding that omega-3 PUFAs with EPA ≥ 60% at a dosage of ≤1 g/d would have beneficial effects on depression. Further studies are warranted to examine supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs for specific subgroups of subjects with inflammation, severity of depression, and the dose response for both EPA and DHA supplementation.