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People with depression have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood, and people who consume more fish – which are often a good source of omega-3s – have a lower incidence of depression. So, can omega-3s, whether through food or supplementation, improve symptoms of depression?
Many Say Yes…
- Benefits of Fish Oil for Mental Health (Verywell Mind – December 18, 2023)
- How Omega-3 Fish Oil Affects Your Brain and Mental Health (Healthline – July 25, 2023)
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids And Depression (Psychiatry Redefined – June 14, 2023)
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation in the Treatment of Depression: An Observational Study (Journal of Personalized Medicine – January 27, 2023)
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Depression With Inflammation (Psychiatric Times – October 7, 2022)
- Higher Doses of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Effective for the Treatment of Depression Associated with Inflammation (MGH Psychiatry News – August 31, 2022)
- Possible antidepressant mechanisms of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids acting on the central nervous system (Frontiers in Psychiatry – August 31, 2022)
- Depression: How omega-3 fatty acids can be used to develop new treatments (MedicalNewsToday – June 25, 2021)
- New insight into how anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids could help reduce depression (King’s College London – June 16, 2021)
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of omega-3 fatty acids in depression (Environmental Science and Pollution Research – June 14, 2021)
- Serum long chain omega-3 fatty acids and depression among adults in the United States: An analysis of NHANES 2011–2012 (Journal of Affective Disorders Reports – April 2021)
- Efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in depression: A meta-analysis (Translational Psychiatry – August 2019)
- In adults with major depression, does omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improve mood? (Evidence-Based Practice – August 2019)
Some Say No…
- Clinical trial reveals that omega-3 fish oil supplements do not help prevent depression (Massachusetts General Hospital – December 21, 2021)
- Effect of Long-term Supplementation With Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acids vs Placebo on Risk of Depression or Clinically Relevant Depressive Symptoms and on Change in Mood Scores (Journal of the American Medical Association – December 21, 2021)
- Harvard study: Fish oil doesn’t prevent depression (Harvard Health Publishing – March 1, 2022)
- Increasing omega-3 intake does not prevent depression or anxiety (National Institute for Health and Care Research – December 2, 2020)
- Omega-3 and polyunsaturated fat for prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials (The British Journal of Psychiatry – October 24, 2019)
While Others Say We Still Need More Research
- Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults (Cochrane – November 24, 2021)
- Omega-3 fatty acids for mood disorders (Harvard Health Publishing – October 27, 2020)
- Home Remedies: Can fish oil supplements treat depression? (Mayo Clinic – June 19, 2019)
- Linking omega-3 fatty acids and depression (Omega Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health (Second Edition) – 2019)
- Omega-3 and Depression (Healthline – September 18, 2018)
- Omega-3 fatty acids and the treatment of depression: a review of scientific evidence (Integrative Medicine Research – September 2015)
- Omega-3s (Mental Health America)
- Fish Oil to Treat Depression? (WebMD)
