U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Schachter HM, Kourad K, Merali Z, et al. Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Mental Health. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2005 Jul. (Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 116.)

  • This publication is provided for historical reference only and the information may be out of date.

This publication is provided for historical reference only and the information may be out of date.

Cover of Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Mental Health

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Mental Health.

Show details

Listing of Reports of Included Studies

  1. Akkerhuis G W, Nolen W A. Lithium-associated psoriasis and omega-3 fatty acids. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(7):1355. [PubMed: 12832259]
  2. Alling C, Gustavsson L, Kristensson-Aas A, Wallerstedt S. Changes in fatty acid composition of major glycerophospholipids in erythrocyte membranes from chronic alcoholics during withdrawal. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1984;44(4):283–289. [PubMed: 6463560]
  3. Amore M, Balista C, McCreadie R G, Cimmino C, Pisani F, Bevilacqua G. et al. Can breast-feeding protect against schizophrenia? Case-control Study. Biol Neonate. 2003;83(2):97–101. [PubMed: 12576752]
  4. Arvindakshan M, Sitasawad S, Debsikdar V, Ghate M, Evans D, Horrobin D F. et al. Essential polyunsaturated fatty acid and lipid peroxide levels in never-medicated and medicated schizophrenia patients. Biol Psychiatry. 2003;53(1):56–64. [PubMed: 12513945]
  5. Arvindakshan M, Ghate M, Ranjekar P K, Evans D R, Mahadik S P. Supplementation with a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants (vitamins E and C) improves the outcome of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2003;62(3):195–204. [PubMed: 12837515]
  6. Assies J, Lieverse R, Vreken P, Wanders R J, Dingemans P M, Linszen D H. Significantly reduced docosahexaenoic and docosapentaenoic acid concentrations in erythrocyte membranes from schizophrenic patients compared with a carefully matched control group. Biol Psychiatry. 2001;49(6):510–522. [PubMed: 11257236]
  7. Brue A W, Oakland T D, Evans R A. The use of a dietary supplement combination and an essential fatty acid as an alternative and complementary treatment for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sci Rev Altern Med. 2001;5(4):187–194.
  8. Buydens-Branchley L, Branchey M, McMakin D L, Hibbeln J R. Polyunsaturated fatty acid status and aggression in cocaine addicts. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003;71(3):319–323. [PubMed: 12957349]
  9. Chiu C C, Huang S Y, Su K P, Lu M L, Huang M C, Chen C C. et al. Polyunsaturated fatty acid deficit in patients with bipolar mania. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2003;13(2):99–103. [PubMed: 12650953]
  10. Christensen O, Christensen E. Fat consumption and schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1988;78(5):587–591. [PubMed: 3232536]
  11. Dickerson F B, Boronow J J, Stallings C R, Lee B A, Agarwal R, Fenton W S. et al. Placebo response in a double-blind therapeutic supplementation trial in stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2003;59(1):97–98. [PubMed: 12413650]
  12. Edwards R, Peet M, Shay J, Horrobin D. Depletion of docosahexaenoic acid in red blood cell membranes of depressive patients. Biochem Soc Trans. 1998;26(2):S142. [PubMed: 9649817]
  13. Edwards R, Peet M, Shay J, Horrobin D. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in the diet and in red blood cell membranes of depressed patients. J Affect Disord. 1998;48(23):149–155. [PubMed: 9543204]
  14. Ellis F R, Sanders T A B. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in endogenous depression. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1977;40(2):168–169. [PMC free article: PMC492633] [PubMed: 864481]
  15. Emsley R, Myburgh C, Oosthuizen P, van Rensburg S J. Randomized, placebo-controlled study of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid as supplemental treatment in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2002;159(9):1596–1598. [PubMed: 12202284]
  16. Evans D R, Parikh V V, Khan M M, Coussons C, Buckley P F, Mahadik S P. Red blood cell membrane essential fatty acid metabolism in early psychotic patients following antipsychotic drug treatment. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2003;69(6):393–399. [PubMed: 14623492]
  17. Fehily A M A, Bowey O A M, Ellis F R, Meade B W. Plasma and erythrocyte membrane long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in endogenous depression. Neurochem Int. 1981;3(1):37–42. [PubMed: 20487806]
  18. Fenton W S, Dickerson F, Boronow J, Hibbeln J R, Knable M. A placebo-controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acid (ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid) supplementation for residual symptoms and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.[comment] Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158(12):2071–2074. [PubMed: 11729030]
  19. Fischer S, Kissling W, Kuss H J. Schizophrenic patients treated with high dose phenothiazine or thioxanthene become deficient in polyunsaturated fatty acids in their thrombocytes. Biochem Pharmacol. 1992;44(2):317–323. [PubMed: 1642646]
  20. Fux M, Benjamin J, Nemets B. A placebo-controlled cross-over trial of adjunctive EPA in OCD. J Psychiatr Res. 2004;38(3):323–325. [PubMed: 15003438]
  21. Gesch C B, Hammond S M, Hampson S E, Eves A, Crowder M J. Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners. Randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2002;181:22–28. [PubMed: 12091259]
  22. Hakkarainen R, Partonen T, Haukka J, Virtamo J, Albanes D, Lonnqvist J. Is low dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids associated with depression? Am J Psychiatry. 2004;161(3):567–569. [PubMed: 14992986]
  23. Hamazaki T, Sawazaki S, Itomura M, Asaoka E, Nagao Y, Nishimura N. et al. The effect of docosahexaenoic acid on aggression in young adults. A placebo-controlled double-blind study. J Clin Invest. 1996;97(4):1129–1133. [PMC free article: PMC507162] [PubMed: 8613538]
  24. Hamazaki T, Sawazaki S, Nagao Y, Kuwamori T, Yazawa K, Mizushima Y. et al. Docosahexaenoic acid does not affect aggression of normal volunteers under nonstressful conditions. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Lipids. 1998;33(7):663–667. [PubMed: 9688168]
  25. Hamazaki T, Thienprasert A, Kheovichai K, Samuhaseneetoo S, Nagasawa T, Watanabe S. The effect of docosahexaenoic acid on aggression in elderly Thai subjects--a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Nutr Neurosci. 2002;5(1):37–41. [PubMed: 11929196]
  26. Harding K L, Judah R D, Gant C E. Outcome-based comparison of Ritalin versus food-supplement treated children with AD/HD. Altern Med Rev. 2003;8(3):319–330. [PubMed: 12946241]
  27. Hibbeln J R, Linnoila M, Umhau J C, Rawlings R, George D T, Salem N Jr. Essential fatty acids predict metabolites of serotonin and dopamine in cerebrospinal fluid among healthy control subjects, and early- and late-onset alcoholics. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;44(4):235–242. [PubMed: 9715354]
  28. Hibbeln J R, Umhau J C, Linnoila M, George D T, Ragan P W, Shoaf S E. et al. A replication study of violent and nonviolent subjects: cerebrospinal fluid metabolites of serotonin and dopamine are predicted by plasma essential fatty acids. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;44(4):243–249. [PubMed: 9715355]
  29. Hibbeln J R. Fish consumption and major depression.[comment] Lancet. 1998;351(9110):1213. [PubMed: 9643729]
  30. Hibbeln J R. Seafood consumption and homicide mortality: A cross-national ecological analysis. 4th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL 2000). World Rev Nutr Diet. 2001;88:41–46. [PubMed: 11935968]
  31. Hibbeln J R. Seafood consumption, the DHA content of mothers' milk and prevalence rates of postpartum depression: a cross-national, ecological analysis. J Affect Disord. 2002;69(13):15–29. [PubMed: 12103448]
  32. Hibbeln J R, Makino K K, Martin C E, Dickerson F, Boronow J, Fenton W S. Smoking, gender, and dietary influences on erythrocyte essential fatty acid composition among patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2003;53(5):431–441. [PubMed: 12614996]
  33. Hirayama S, Hamazaki T, Terasawa K. Effect of docosahexaenoic acid-containing food administration on symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - A placebo-controlled double-blind study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004;58(3):467–473. [PubMed: 14985685]
  34. Holman R T, Adams C E, Nelson R A, Grater S J, Jaskiewicz J A, Johnson S B. et al. Patients with anorexia nervosa demonstrate deficiencies of selected essential fatty acids, compensatory changes in nonessential fatty acids and decreased fluidity of plasma lipids. J Nutr. 1995;125(4):901–907. [PubMed: 7722693]
  35. Horrobin D F, Bennett C N, Peet M. Correlation between clinical improvement and red cell fatty acid changes when treating schizophrenia with eicosapentaenoic acid. Schizophr Res. 2001;49:232.
  36. Horrobin D F, Manku M S, Morse-Fisher N, Vaddadi K S, Courtney P, Glen A I. et al. Essential fatty acids in plasma phospholipids in schizophrenics. Biol Psychiatry. 1989;25(5):562–568. [PubMed: 2920191]
  37. Iribarren C, Markovitz J H, Jacobs D R Jr, Schreiner P J, Daviglus M, Hibbeln J R. Dietary intake of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish: Relationship with hostility in young adults - The CARDIA study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004;58(1):24–31. [PubMed: 14679363]
  38. Kaiya H, Horrobin D F, Manku M S, Fisher N M. Essential and other fatty acids in plasma in schizophrenics and normal individuals from Japan. Biol Psychiatry. 1991;30(4):357–362. [PubMed: 1912126]
  39. Khan M M, Evans D R, Gunna V, Scheffer R E, Parikh V V, Mahadik S P. Reduced erythrocyte membrane essential fatty acids and increased lipid peroxides in schizophrenia at the never-medicated first-episode of psychosis and after years of treatment with antipsychotics. Schizophr Res. 2002;58(1):1–10. [PubMed: 12363384]
  40. Langan S M, Farrell P M. Vitamin E, vitamin A and essential fatty acid status of patients hospitalized for anorexia nervosa. Am J Clin Nutr. 1985;41(5):1054–1060. [PubMed: 3993608]
  41. Leask S J, Done D J, Crow T J, Richards M, Jones P B. No association between breast-feeding and adult psychosis in two national birth cohorts. Br J Psychiatry. 2000;177:218–221. [PubMed: 11040881]
  42. Llorente A M, Jensen C L, Voigt R G, Fraley J K, Berretta M C, Heird W C. Effect of maternal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on postpartum depression and information processing. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188(5):1348–1353. [PubMed: 12748510]
  43. Maes M, Smith R, Christophe A, Cosyns P, Desnyder R, Meltzer H. Fatty acid composition in major depression: decreased omega 3 fractions in cholesteryl esters and increased C20: 4 omega 6/C20:5 omega 3 ratio in cholesteryl esters and phospholipids. J Affect Disord. 1996;38(1):35–46. [PubMed: 8735157]
  44. Maes M, Christophe A, Delanghe J, Altamura C, Neels H, Meltzer H Y. Lowered omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum phospholipids and cholesteryl esters of depressed patients. Psychiatry Res. 1999;85(3):275–291. [PubMed: 10333380]
  45. Mahadik S P, Mukherjee S, Horrobin D F, Jenkins K, Correnti E E, Scheffer R E. Plasma membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition of cultured skin fibroblasts from schizophrenic patients: comparison with bipolar patients and normal subjects. Psychiatry Res. 1996;63(23):133–142. [PubMed: 8878309]
  46. Marangell L B, Martinez J M, Zboyan H A, Kertz B, Kim H F, Puryear L J. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid in the treatment of major depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(5):996–998. [PubMed: 12727707]
  47. McCreadie R G. The Nithsdale Schizophrenia Surveys. 16. Breast-feeding and schizophrenia: preliminary results and hypotheses. Br J Psychiatry. 1997;170:334–337. [PubMed: 9246251]
  48. Mellor J E, Laugharne J D E, Peet M. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in schizophrenic patients. Hum psychopharm. 1996;11(1):39–46.
  49. Mitchell E A, Lewis S, Cutler D R. Essential fatty acids and maladjusted behaviour in children. Prostaglandins Leukot Med. 1983;12(3):281–287. [PubMed: 6581484]
  50. Mitchell E A, Aman M G, Turbott S H, Manku M. Clinical characteristics and serum essential fatty acid levels in hyperactive children. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1987;26(8):406–411. [PubMed: 2439249]
  51. Nemets B, Stahl Z, Belmaker R H. Addition of omega-3 fatty acid to maintenance medication treatment for recurrent unipolar depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2002;159(3):477–479. [PubMed: 11870016]
  52. Ness A R, Gallacher J E J, Bennett P D, Gunnell D J, Rogers P J, Kessler D. et al. Advice to eat fish and mood: A randomised controlled trial in men with angina. Nutr Neurosci. 2003;6(1):63–65. [PubMed: 12608739]
  53. Noaghiul S, Hibbeln J R. Cross-national comparisons of seafood consumption and rates of bipolar disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(12):2222–2227. [PubMed: 14638594]
  54. Obi F O, Nwanze E A. Fatty acid profiles in mental disease. Part 1. Linolenate variations in schizophrenia. J Neurol Sci. 1979;43(3):447–454. [PubMed: 521838]
  55. Peet M, Poole J, Laugharne J. Infant feeding and the development of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 1997;24:255–256.
  56. Peet M, Laugharne J, Rangarajan N, Horrobin D, Reynolds G. Depleted red cell membrane essential fatty acids in drug-treated schizophrenic patients. J Psychiatr Res. 1995;29(3):227–232. [PubMed: 7473298]
  57. Peet M, Murphy B, Shay J, Horrobin D. Depletion of omega-3 fatty acid levels in red blood cell membranes of depressive patients. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;43(5):315–319. [PubMed: 9513745]
  58. Peet M, Mellor J. Double-blind, placebo controlled trial of N3 polysaturated fatty acids as an adjunct to neuroleptics. Schizophr Res. 1998;29:160–161.
  59. Peet M. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is effective in relieving schizophrenic symptoms in patients on clozapine. Schizophrenia Research. April 28 - May 2, 2001.
  60. Peet M, Brind J, Ramchand C N, Shah S, Vankar G K. Two double-blind placebo-controlled pilot studies of eicosapentaenoic acid in the treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2001;49(3):243–251. [PubMed: 11356585]
  61. Peet M, Horrobin D F. A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002;59(10):913–919. [PubMed: 12365878]
  62. Peet M, Horrobin D F. Study Group E-EM. A dose-ranging exploratory study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with persistent schizophrenic symptoms. J Psychiatr Res. 2002;36(1):7–18. [PubMed: 11755456]
  63. Peet M. International variations in the outcome of schizophrenia and the prevalence of depression in relation to national dietary practices: an ecological analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2004;184:404–408. [PubMed: 15123503]
  64. Ranjekar P K, Hinge A, Hegde M V, Ghate M, Kale A, Sitasawad S. et al. Decreased antioxidant enzymes and membrane essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in schizophrenic and bipolar mood disorder patients. Psychiatry Res. 2003;121(2):109–122. [PubMed: 14656446]
  65. Richardson A J, Puri B K. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of supplementation with highly unsaturated fatty acids on ADHD-related symptoms in children with specific learning difficulties. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2002;26(2):233–239. [PubMed: 11817499]
  66. Sasaki T, Okazaki Y, Akaho R, Masui K, Harada S, Lee I. et al. Type of feeding during infancy and later development of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2000;42(1):79–82. [PubMed: 10706988]
  67. Shah S, Ramchand C N, Peet M. Double-blind pilot study of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPC) as the sole treatment for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2000;41(1):27. [PubMed: 11356585]
  68. Silvers K M, Scott K M. Fish consumption and self-reported physical and mental health status. Public Health Nutr. 2002;5(3):427–431. [PubMed: 12003654]
  69. Stevens L, Zhang W, Peck L, Kuczek T, Grevstad N, Mahon A. et al. EFA supplementation in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors. Lipids. 2003;38(10):1007–1021. [PubMed: 14669965]
  70. Stevens L J, Zentall S S, Deck J L, Abate M L, Watkins B A, Lipp S R. et al. Essential fatty acid metabolism in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995;62(4):761–768. [PubMed: 7572706]
  71. Stoll A L, Severus W E, Freeman M P, Rueter S, Zboyan H A, Diamond E. et al. Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.[comment] Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999;56(5):407–412. [PubMed: 10232294]
  72. Su K P, Huang S Y, Chiu C C, Shen W W. Omega-3 fatty acids in major depressive disorder. A preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2003;13(4):267–271. [PubMed: 12888186]
  73. Suzuki S, Akechi T, Kobayashi M, Taniguchi K, Goto K, Sasaki S. et al. Daily omega-3 fatty acid intake and depression in Japanese patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. Br J Cancer. 2004;90(4):787–793. [PMC free article: PMC2410186] [PubMed: 14970854]
  74. Tanskanen A, Hibbeln J R, Hintikka J, Haatainen K, Honkalampi K, Viinamaki H. Fish consumption, depression, and suicidality in a general population.[comment] Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(5):512–513. [PubMed: 11343534]
  75. Tanskanen A, Hibbeln J R, Tuomilehto J, Uutela A, Haukkala A, Viinamaki H. et al. Fish consumption and depressive symptoms in the general population in Finland. Psychiatr Serv. 2001;52(4):529–531. [PubMed: 11274502]
  76. Tiemeier H, van Tuijl H R, Hofman A, Kiliaan A J, Breteler M M B. Plasma fatty acid composition and depression are associated in the elderly: the Rotterdam Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003;78(1):40–46. [PubMed: 12816769]
  77. Vaddadi K S, Gilleard C J, Soosai E, Polonowita A K, Gibson R A, Burrows G D. Schizophrenia, tardive dyskinesia and essential fatty acids. Schizophr Res. 1996;20(3):287–294. [PubMed: 8827855]
  78. Vancassel S, Durand G, Barthelemy C, Lejeune B, Martineau J, Guilloteau D. et al. Plasma fatty acid levels in autistic children. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2001;65(1):1–7. [PubMed: 11487301]
  79. Virkkunen M E, Horrobin D F, Jenkins D K, Manku M S. Plasma phospholipid essential fatty acids and prostaglandins in alcoholic, habitually violent, and impulsive offenders. Biol Psychiatry. 1987;22(9):1087–1096. [PubMed: 2958095]
  80. Voigt R G, Llorente A M, Jensen C L, Fraley J K, Berretta M C, Heird W C. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.[comment] J Pediatr. 2001;139(2):189–196. [PubMed: 11487742]
  81. Wardle J, Rogers P, Judd P, Taylor M A, Rapoport L, Green M. et al. Randomized trial of the effects of cholesterol-lowering dietary treatment on psychological function. Am J Med. 2000;108(7):547–553. [PubMed: 10806283]
  82. Weissman M M, Bland R C, Canino G J, Faravelli C, Greenwald S, Hwu H G. et al. Cross-national epidemiology of major depression and bipolar disorder. JAMA. 1996;276(4):293–299. [PubMed: 8656541]
  83. Woo J, Ho S C, Yu A L M. Lifestyle factors and health outcomes in elderly Hong Kong Chinese aged 70 years and over. Gerontology. 2002;48(4):234–240. [PubMed: 12053113]
  84. Yang S C, Chiu W C, Chen J R, Lee J C, Shieh M J. Dietary intakes of 4–8 years old children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nutr Sci J. 1999;24(2):153–165.
  85. Yao J, Stanley J A, Reddy R D, Keshavan M S, Pettegrew J W. Correlations between peripheral polyunsaturated fatty acid content and in vivo membrane phospholipid metabolites. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;52(8):823–830. [PubMed: 12372654]
  86. Zanarini M C, Frankenburg F R. omega-3 Fatty acid treatment of women with borderline personality disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(1):167–169. [PubMed: 12505817]
Bookshelf ID: NBK37684

Views

  • PubReader
  • Print View
  • Cite this Page

Recent Activity

Your browsing activity is empty.

Activity recording is turned off.

Turn recording back on

See more...