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Essential fatty acids and depression

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KMAppleton. et al. Effects of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on depressed mood: systematic review of published trials. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:1308–16.
SFrangou. et al. Efficacy of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid in bipolar depression: randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study. Br J Psychiatry. 2006 Jan;188:46–50.
BHallahan. et al. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in patients with recurrent self-harm: Single-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2007 Feb;190:118–122.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2013

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In a nutshell

The observational evidence linking lower LCPFA status with depression is quite strong.

The published RCTs that have given extra LCPFA to counter depression have tended to small sample sizes and have had very varied methodologies. The trend is towards positive results, but we do not yet have enough data to be confident about what treatment will benefit which patient.

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Brief Report
Information
Arbor Clinical Nutrition Updates , Volume 273 , February 2007, pp. 1 - 3
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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