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Ikbal Andrian Malau, Mind-Body Interface Research Center (MBI-Lab) and Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Cheng-Ho Chang, Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan Wei-Jen Chen, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan Wen-Chun Liu, Department of Nursing, National Tainan Junior College of Nursing, Tainan, Taiwan Halliru Zailani, Mind-Body Interface Research Center (MBI-Lab) and Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Hsien-Feng Liao, Jenteh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan Jane Pei-Chen Chang, Mind-Body Interface Research Center (MBI-Lab) and Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Wei-Che Chiu, Department of Psychiatry, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanFollow Kuan-Pin Su, College of Medicine, China Medical University (CMU), Taichung, TAIWAN; Abstract
Background: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have demonstrated efficacy as adjunctive treatment for MDD. In fact, fewer studies assessed the prophylactic properties of n-3 PUFAs as monotherapy on the recurrence of MDD.
Aims: This study aimed to assess the prophylactic effect of n-3 PUFAs monotherapy against recurrent MDD.
Methods: We conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial to assess the prophylactic effect of n-3 in preventing recurrent MDD. We assigned 60 remitted MDD patients to the n-3 group (n = 30) and placebo (n = 30). Furthermore, we assessed the difference in depression severity and MDD recurrence based on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) at months 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 between groups. The recurrent event of MDD was defined as an HRSD score >20. Furthermore, biochemical parameters in plasma were assessed as the secondary outcomes.
Results: There was no significant difference in the HRSD score between the n-3 group and placebo each month (p-value > 0.05). However, our findings have implicated that omega-3 monotherapy for MDD contributed to a lower recurrence rate compared to the placebo group at month 6 (p-value = 0.035). Omega-3 supplementation was superior to placebo to preventing recurrent MDD analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis over a 6-month study period (p-value = 0.041). In comparison, the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plasma level of the n-3 group at the end point of study was significantly higher than the placebo (p-value = 0.023), but not for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (p-value = 0.119).
Conclusion: Our study concluded that n-3 PUFAs monotherapy demonstrated a prophylactic effect on the recurrence of MDD.
Recommended Citation
Malau, Ikbal Andrian; Chang, Cheng-Ho; Chen, Wei-Jen; Liu, Wen-Chun; Zailani, Halliru; Liao, Hsien-Feng; Chang, Jane Pei-Chen; Chiu, Wei-Che; and Su, Kuan-Pin
(2025)
"Prophylactic Effect of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Monotherapy in Preventing Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial,"
BioMedicine: Vol. 15
:
Iss.
4
, Article 5.
DOI: 10.37796/2211-8039.1667
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