Abstract

We conducted this meta-analysis of double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trials to estimate the efficacy of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), in the improvement of depression. We applied a systematic bibliographic search in PubMed and EMBASE for articles published prior to 20 December 2017. This meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and R 3.4.3, and means and standard deviations were calculated in fixed- or random-effects models based on the results of the Q-test. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the stability of the results, and publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot and Egger’s linear regression analysis. Our search resulted in 180 articles; we analyzed 26 studies, which included 2160 participants. The meta-analysis showed an overall beneficial effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on depression symptoms (SMD = −0.28, P = 0.004). Compared with placebo, EPA-pure (=100% EPA) and EPA-major formulations (≥60% EPA) demonstrated clinical benefits with an EPA dosage ≤1 g/d (SMD = −0.50, P = 0.003, and SMD = −1.03, P = 0.03, respectively), whereas DHA-pure and DHA-major formulations did not exhibit such benefits.

原文链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-019-0515-5