Omega-3 Fats Hold Promise for Mental Health

by | Oct 20, 2008 | 2008, Alzheimer's Disease, Brain Health, Depression

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a study of 1214 patients, low EPA levels increased the risk of dementia in depressed patients by 52%.

The incidence of Alzheimer Disease (AD) has doubled since 1980, currently affecting just under 5 million Americans, and expected to affect 16 million by 2050 (1). The condition currently costs our healthcare system over $100 billion each year (2). Fortunately, there are some simple ways to help maintain mental health, including eating apples (3), drinking green tea (4), taking vitamin E (5) and grape extract (6).

A 2006 study on fish oil’s ability to maintain mental health (7) found that fish oil increases brain chemicals and “might thus be useful and offer therapeutic benefit in treating [AD]” . Another 2006 study (8) found that omega-3 fats have “positive effect, in a small group of patients with very mild AD”. Now a new study (9) has found more evidence that fish oil may help maintain mental health. In the study, 1214 patients from the Three-City Study (3CS) underwent a physical exam and neuropsychological testing (10), completed a questionnaire on depression (11), and provided blood samples. They were then followed up four years later.

The researchers found that regular fish consumption (eating fish or seafood at least once per week) decreased AD risk by 38%. Blood levels of EPA and DHA were 25% and 9.5% higher in patients without AD, resulting in 34% and 24% reduced risks of AD. Finally, they found that depression is an independent risk factor for dementia, and low EPA levels increase the risk of dementia in depressed patients by 52%.

For the researchers, “Our results provide evidence that both lower plasma EPA and higher depression may increase the risk of dementia.”

Source: Samieri, Cécilia, Catherine Féart, Luc Letenneur, Jean-François Dartigues, Karine Pérès, Sophie Auriacombe, Evelyne Peuchant, Cécile Delcourt, and Pascale Barberger-Gateau. “Low plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and depressive symptomatology are independent predictors of dementia risk.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 88, no. 3 (2008): 714-721.

© 2008 American Society for Nutrition

Posted October 20, 2008.

Reference:

  1. Hebert, LE; Scherr, PA; Bienias, JL; Bennett, DA; Evans, DA. “Alzheimer Disease in the U.S. Population: Prevalence Estimates Using the 2000 Census.” Archives of Neurology August 2003; 60 (8): 1119 – 1122.
  2. Ernst, RL; Hay, JW. “The U.S. Economic and Social Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease Revisited.” American Journal of Public Health 1994; 84(8): 1261 – 1264.
  3. Lee, C. Y. (2004). “Protective Effects of Quercetin and Vitamin C against Oxidative Stress-Induced Neurodegeneration.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 7514-7517.
  4. Tan J.  Green Tea Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) Modulates Amyloid Precursor Protein Cleavage and Reduces Cerebral Amyloidosis in Alzheimer Transgenic Mice  J. Neurosci. 2005 25: 8807-8814.
  5. American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting 15 April 2008, Poster Sessions III: Aging and Dementia: Clinical II [P03.076] Vitamin E Use Is Associated with Improved Survival in an AD Cohort Authors: V. Pavlik, R. Doody, S. Rountree, E. Darby.
  6. Wang J.  Grape-Derived Polyphenolics Prevent Aâ Oligomerization and Attenuate Cognitive Deterioration in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease.  Journal of Neurosci 2008; 28(25):6388-6392; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0364-08.2008.
  7. Wurtman RJ.  Synaptic proteins and phospholipids are increased in gerbil brain by administering uridine plus docosahexaenoic acid orally.  In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 April 2006 in Brain Research.
  8. Freund-Levi Y.  Omega-3 Fatty Acid Treatment in 174 Patients With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer Disease: OmegAD Study: A Randomized Double-blind Trial.  Arch Neurol 2006;63:1402-1408.
  9. Samieri C.  Low plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and depressive symptomatology are independent predictors of dementia risk  Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:714 –21.
  10. The 3C study group. Vascular risk factors and risk of dementia: design of the Three-City Study and baseline characteristics of the study population. Neuroepidemiology 2003;22:316 –25.
  11. Radloff LS. The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Meas 1977;1:385– 401.