Abstract Background Reports on the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) for the treatment of late-life depression (LLD) are mixed, and most studies focus on the modification of depressive symptoms rather than depression prevention. Aims & Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of n-3 PUFAs in preventing depressive recurrence in patients with late-life depression. In addition, we investigated the effects of n-3 PUFAs on changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms and inflammatory markers in LLD. Method A 52-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted. We enrolled a total of 39 euthymic patients with LLD. They were randomized to receive either n-3 PUFAs (1.2 g per day of eicosapentaenoic acid and 1 g of docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo for 52 weeks. Recurrence of depression and severity of depression symptoms were assessed at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, and 52. Results A total of 39 patients completed the trial with 19 in the n-3 PUFAs group and 20 in the placebo group. Cox proportional hazard regression indicated that n-3 PUFAs had significant protective effect on depression recurrence (Hazard Ratio: 0.295, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.093-0.931, p value =0.037). But n-3 PUFAs intervention had no significant effect in reducing depressive or anxiety symptoms, inflammatory markers over the placebo group. Discussion & Conclusions These findings suggest that n-3 PUFAs may have a prophylactic effect in currently euthymic patients with LLD.
Cheng et al. (Fri,) studied this question.