Elderly Less Depressed With Omega-3 Fish Oil
Depression in the Elderly: Fewer Cases Thanks to Omega-3 EPA DHA
A French study suggests that omega-3 from fish oil, particularly EPA, may alleviate depressive symptoms in elderly subjects undergoing antidepressant therapy. The role of omega-3s in preventing heart disease is well established, so much so that these substances are now included in protocols and – like medications – can be prescribed at no cost to patients suffering from certain conditions. A study conducted in France (*) examined the levels of various blood lipids in 1390 elderly subjects with depressive problems, seeking to find a correlation with the severity of the disorders. Statistical analysis of the data showed an inverse correlation between omega-3 levels and symptom intensity, especially in subjects treated with antidepressant drugs. In other words, those with higher omega-3 blood levels were less depressed than those with lower levels.
These results align with numerous epidemiological studies in which a correlation was found between depression and low blood omega-3 levels. The novelty of this study is the particularly significant link between depression severity, omega-3 levels, and the use of antidepressant medication in old age. Often in research, it happens that – after years of studies – researchers from different labs reach the same conclusions on a given topic within a short time frame.
Other researchers, in fact, have shown that omega-3s have an effect similar to fluoxetine (the active ingredient in Prozac) for treating depression, and that combining the two treatments achieves a superior effect. Together, the two studies suggest that a good level of EPA omega-3 is an important factor for the pharmacological treatment of depression: indeed, the combination of the two substances creates significant improvement, while the use of medication is not very effective when omega-3 levels are particularly low.
Source:
Féart et al. Plasma eicosapentaenoic acid is inversely associated with severity of depressive symptomatology in the elderly: data from the Bordeaux sample of the Three-City Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1156-62.
