Omega-3 fatty acids as treatments for mental illness: which disorder and which fatty acid?

Table 2 Double blind placebo-controlled trials of omega-3 fatty acids upon in anxiety disorders.

Ref	Jadad score	Disorder	Meds	Age	Gen	Omega-3 fatty acid	Prep type	Duration	N	Outcome measure	Average baseline score	Δ	Statistical significance vs. placebo
37	4	OCD	100%	34	73%	2 g/day EPA	Ethyl EPA	6 weeks	11	YBOCS	26	-0.9	No
										HDRS	11	NS	No
										HARS	14	NS	No
41	4	SUA	42%	51	0%	450 mg/day EPA 100 mg/day DHA	Crude mixture	3 months	24	POMS-T	4.3	-2.9	Yes

OCD and SUA are obsessive compulsive disorder and substance use associated anxiety respectively. Δ refers to the change from baseline symptom scores for the omega-3 fatty acid group minus change from baseline scores for the placebo group. Jadad design quality scores can range from 0 to 5 with 5 being best. The symptom scales used are the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and the tension subscale of the Profile of Mood Scale (POMS-T). Zero is best for all scales hence a negative Δ value indicates an improvement over placebo. The average baseline score is the average of the omega-3 and placebo group scores at the start of the trial. Gen (gender) refers to the % of female participants in the trial. Meds refers to the percentage of trial participant who were in receipt of conventional medications for anxiety disorders. Prep. type describes whether a crude oil mixture or a purified fatty acid was used. NS – not stated.

ISSN: 1476-511X