which can affect 5% to 20% of pregnant women.2–8
Poor attendance to prenatal clinics, substance misuse, low birth weight, and premature delivery are observed in pregnant women with depressed mood.9,10
Untreated depression during pregnancy also increases the risk of negative preg-nancy outcomes,1,11
and psychopathologic symptoms dur-ing pregnancy could have further physiologic conse-quences to the fetus.12
As is well known, pharmacotherapy for depression during pregnancy is a clinical dilemma. Although it has been suggested that the relapse rates for depression are high during pregnancy13
and taking antidepressants does not increase the risk of malformation or miscarriage,1
more recent data have raised the concern that taking se-lective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepres-sants during the third trimester may be associated with considerably increased risk of perinatal complications.14,15
In addition, antidepressant use during pregnancy in women with a history of major depression is associated
Omega-3 Fatty Acids for
Major Depressive Disorder During Pregnancy:
Results From a Randomized, Double-Blind,
Placebo-Controlled Trial
Kuan-Pin Su, M.D.; Shih-Yi Huang, Ph.D.; Tsan-Hung Chiu, M.D., Ph.D.;
Kuo-Cherh Huang, Dr.P.H., M.B.A.; Chieh-Liang Huang, M.D.;
Hui-Chih Chang, M.S.; and Carmine M. Pariante, M.D., Ph.D.
Background: Perinatal depression is common, and treatment remains challenging. Depression has been reported to be associated with the abnormality of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A pro-found decrease of omega-3 PUFAs in the mother during pregnancy is associated with the higher demand of fetal development and might precipitate the occurrence of depression. In this study, we examined the efficacy of omega-3 PUFA monotherapy for the treatment of depression during pregnancy.
Method: From June 2004 to June 2006, we con-ducted an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing omega-3 PUFAs (3.4 g/d) with placebo in pregnant women with major depressive disorder (DSM-IV criteria). No psychotropic agent was given 1 month prior to or during the study period. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) was scored every other week as the primary measurement of efficacy, while the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were secondary measures.
Results: Thirty-six subjects were randomly assigned to either omega-3 PUFAs or placebo, and 33 among them were evaluated in more than 2 visits. A total of 24 subjects completed the study. As compared to the placebo group, subjects in the omega-3 group had sig-nificantly lower HAM-D scores at weeks 6 (p = .001) and 8 (p = .019), a significantly higher response rate (62% vs. 27%, p = .03), and a higher remission rate, although the latter did not reach statistical significance (38% vs. 18%, p = .28). At the study end point, subjects in the omega-3 group also had significantly lower de-pressive symptom ratings on the EPDS and BDI. The omega-3 PUFAs were well tolerated and there were no adverse effects on the subjects and newborns.
Conclusions: Omega-3 PUFAs may have therapeutic benefits in depression during pregnancy. In regard to the safety issue and psychotherapeutic effect, as well as health promotion to mothers and their newborns, it is worthy to conduct replication studies in a larger sample with a broad regimen of omega-3 PUFAs in pregnant women with depression.
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00618865
(J Clin Psychiatry 2008;69:644–651)
Received Aug. 7, 2007; accepted Nov. 7, 2007. From the Department of Psychiatry and Mind-Body Interface Research Centre (Drs. Su and C-L Huang) and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Dr. Chiu), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; the School of Nutrition and Health Sciences (Drs. Su and S-Y Huang) and the School of Health Care Administration (Drs. K-C Huang and Chang), Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; and the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, United Kingdom (Drs. Su and Pariante and Ms. Chang).
The work was supported by the grants of NSC 93-2320-B-039-001 and 95-2320-B-039-037-MY3 from the National Science Council; DOH94F044 and DOH95F022 from the Department of Health; and DMR-94-10, DMR-94-46, and CMU-95-143 from the China Medical University and Hospital in Taiwan.
The authors report no additional financial or other relationships relevant to the subject of this article.
Corresponding authors and reprints: Kuan-Pin Su, M.D., Mind-Body Interface Research Centre, Department of General Psychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, No. 2, Yuh-Der Rd., Taichung 404, Taiwan (e-mail: cobolsu@gmail.com); and Shih-Yi Huang, Ph.D., School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (e-mail: sihuang@tmu.edu.tw).
W
omen during pregnancy and after childbirthwith a higher risk of premature delivery and lower gesta-tional age at birth compared with women who elected to discontinue medication during pregnancy, and the adverse effect of antidepressants remained after the analyses con-trolled for severity and duration of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.16
To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-ministration has not approved any antidepressant agents during pregnancy. Furthermore, most mothers are exceed-ingly anxious about accepting antidepressant medication, and despite moderate to severe depressive symptoms and impaired functioning, they tend to focus on the risks of in utero exposure to medication rather than on the risks of untreated depression.17
Most mothers-to-be choose not to take medications, a problem that was highlighted in the lay press U.S. News and World Report article, “The Baby or the Drug? It’s a Choice That Many Pregnant Women Often Face—But Shouldn’t.”18
Considering the potential impact on mothers and newborns, the development of safe and ef-fective management is critical for pregnant women with depression.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), includ-ing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are nutritional compounds with widely estab-lished health benefits.19–21
Since essential fatty acids can-not be synthesized by the human body, they are considered an indispensable dietary component.22
Pregnancy is asso-ciated with a decrease in the biochemical PUFA status, and it returns to normal slowly after delivery.23,24
Recently, a deficit of omega-3 PUFAs was hypothesized to be etio-logically important in depression.25
Societies in which a large amount of omega-3 PUFAs are consumed appear to have a lower prevalence of major depressive disorder.26–28
Consistent with the above-mentioned fact, it is found that patients with major depressive disorder have lower levels of omega-3 PUFAs,29–33
and the level of omega-3 PUFAs is significantly negatively correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms.31,33
The abnormalities in PUFA composition on cell membranes can alter membrane mi-crostructure, cause abnormal signal transduction and im-munologic dysregulation, and possibly increase the risk of developing depression.25,34
More importantly, 2 meta-analytic reviews35,36
and several clinical trials37–41
have re-ported an antidepressant effect of PUFAs. In addition, the use of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatric patients during the perinatal stage was supported by case reports of preg-nant women with depression42
and schizophrenia43
and by a small, open-label, flexible-dose trial in 15 pregnant de-pressed subjects.44
Due to the advantage of lack of terato-genesis45
and its essentiality for the central nervous system development,46–48
omega-3 PUFAs might be a promising alternative treatment for pregnant women with depression. In this study, we conducted an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Our hypothesis is that omega-3 PUFAs are effective and safe in treating major depressive disorder in pregnant women.
METHOD Subjects
This 8-week, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was approved by the insti-tutional review board and conducted at China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan. Eligible participants were pregnant women, aged 18 to 40 years, with DSM-IV ma-jor depressive disorder onset between their 16th week (second trimester) and 32nd week (third trimester) of ges-tation seen at the Department of Obstetrics during the 24-month study period (June 2004 to June 2006). They were screened with the Taiwanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) by a psychiatric re-search nurse and then interviewed by experienced psychiatrists using the structured Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).49
The information on the translation, validation, and instruction of the Tai-wanese version of the MINI can be accessed on the Web site of the Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry (http:// www.sop.org.tw/dow_a.htm). The Taiwanese version of the EPDS has been validated in screening depression dur-ing pregnancy.50
Subjects were excluded if they had a DSM-IV diagno-sis of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, or substance abuse/dependence or any Axis II diagnosis of borderline or antisocial personality disorder. Participants were re-quired to be free from any psychotropic agents at least 1 month, to have a score of at least 18 on the 21-item Ham-ilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) at screening phase, and to have good physical health as determined by medical history, physical examination, blood laboratory results, electrocardiogram, chest radiography, and urinal-ysis. The supply of open-label omega-3 fatty acids could be continued, and they were available upon subjects’ re-quests even if the study were to end before the delivery. All participants were informed of other treatment options, including antidepressant medications and psychotherapy, and provided written consent before entering the study. Study Design
At the baseline visit (week –1), the detailed psychiat-ric, obstetpsychiat-ric, and medical histories were obtained, and the HAM-D, Taiwanese version of the EPDS, and 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used for assess-ment. Before random assignment, all the consenting par-ticipants received a single-blind placebo lead-in trial for 1 week. Those who showed a decrease of 20% or more in HAM-D scores (placebo responders) would not proceed to the randomization phase. After the placebo lead-in phase, participants were randomly assigned (at week 0) to receive 5 identical gelatin capsules per day containing ei-ther omega-3 fatty acids or placebo (olive oil ethyl esters) for 8 weeks. The capsules for the treatment group con-tained a total daily dosage of omega-3 fatty acid with 2.2
g of EPA and 1.2 g of DHA, which were produced from menhaden fish body oil concentrate. The capsules (omega-3 fatty acid and placebo) were vacuum deodor-ized, amended by blending with orange flavor, and supplemented with tertiary butylhydroquinone, 0.2 mg/g, and tocopherols, 2 mg/g, as antioxidants.
We performed the HAM-D, EPDS, BDI, and a brief adverse-effect checklist at week –1 (placebo lead-in phase), week 0 (baseline), and weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. Par-ticipants taking any antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers 1 month prior to the study were ex-cluded, and no psychotropic agents were given during the study period. Blood samples were taken for omega-3 PUFA analysis at week –1 and week 8, with which each individual red blood cell fatty acid was analyzed with gas chromatography of methyl esters. The detailed step-by-step laboratory procedures were described elsewhere.51
Outcome Measures and Statistical Analysis
All participants after randomization were included in the analysis of illness characteristics and the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. The primary mea-surement of efficacy was the HAM-D, while the EPDS and BDI were the secondary measures, and statistical
analyses were done between 2 groups. The intention-to-treat (ITT) population included all patients who had a baseline and at least 1 postbaseline observation, while the per-protocol population included all patients who completed 8 weeks of treatment. Biweekly changes in HAM-D total scores from baseline to endpoint were ana-lyzed as the primary outcome. Treatment responders were characterized descriptively as those who improve at least 50% from baseline in HAM-D. Patients with remission were defined as those who had a HAM-D score of 7 or less. Categorical variables, such as the remission rate and response rate, were analyzed by using χ2
tests.
Differences of rating scores between placebo and omega-3 groups at each visit point were assessed by an independent-samples t test. The statistical model used to compare differences of outcome measurements at end-point between groups was the analysis of covariance with treatment group as the main effect and the baseline score as the covariate. The effect of the omega-3 PUFAs was examined with repeated-measures analysis of variance us-ing time as the repeated factor, treatment groups (placebo or omega-3 PUFA) as the independent factor, and clinical data (age, years of education, duration of current episode, number of previous depressive episodes, number of previ-Figure 1. Flowchart of Subject Screening and Enrollment
Abbreviations: DSM-IV = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; EPDS = Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
Screened by Psychiatric Research Nurse
(N = 1048)
EPDS Score ≥12 (N = 126)
Met DSM-IV Criteria for Major Depressive Disorder
(N = 71) Randomization (N = 36) Omega-3 (N = 18) Placebo (N = 18) Completers (N = 13) Completers (N = 11) Excluded (N = 922)
1. Did not complete the EPDS (12/1048) 2. EPDS Score < 12 (910/1036)
Excluded (N = 55)
1. Refused to meet psychiatrists for structured interview (N = 40) 2. Structurally interviewed but did not meet DSM-IV criteria for
major depressive disorder (N = 15)
Excluded (N = 35)
1. Refused to participate (N = 31): Disagreement with diagnosis (15/31) Disagreement with necessity of treatment (9/31) Concerns of adverse effects of treatment (7/31) 2. Placebo responders at placebo lead-in phase (4/40)
Discontinued (N = 5)
1. Did not return for any follow-up visit (excluded from intent-to-treat analysis, N = 1) 2. Did not return before completion (N = 1) 3. Unsatisfactory response (N = 3)
Discontinued (N = 7)
1. Did not return for any follow-up visit (excluded from intent-to-treat analysis, N = 2) 2. Did not return before completion (N = 1) 3. Unsatisfactory response (N = 3) 4. Severe nausea (N = 1)
ous instances of gestation and/or abortion, and baseline red blood cell omega-3 PUFA compositions) as covar-iates. A mixed-model analysis of variance approach was applied for repeated-measurement analysis. The missing values in the ITT population were handled by using the PROC MI procedure of the SAS statistical software to implement the expectation-maximization algorithms. Data were analyzed using SAS statistical software, ver-sion 8.02 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, N.C.). A value of p less than .05 is considered statistically significant.
RESULTS Disposition and Demographics
One thousand forty-eight pregnant women were screened by a psychiatric research nurse; 86 of 126 women with EPDS score more than 12 agreed to be structurally interviewed by psychiatrists, and 71 met the DSM-IV diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Forty women consented to participate in the study initially. The reasons for refusal to participate were patients’ ment with having a depressive disorder (15/31), disagree-ment with necessity of treatdisagree-ment (9/31), and concerns of adverse effects of treatment (7/31).
Figure 1 provides a detailed flow chart summarizing study recruitment. Four placebo responders (10%) were withdrawn by the investigators because of a greater than
20% decrease in the HAM-D score at placebo lead-in phase. The remaining 36 subjects were then randomly as-signed to either the omega-3 group (N = 18) or the pla-cebo group (N = 18). Among these, a total of 33 patients (N = 17 in the omega-3 group, N = 16 in the placebo group) who had been evaluated in more than 2 visits were included in the ITT analysis. With a dropout of 12 sub-jects, 24 patients (N = 13 in the omega-3 group, N = 11 in the placebo group) completed this 8-week study, and these data were used for per-protocol analysis. Five of the dropouts were from the omega-3 group (2 failed to return in follow-up and 3 withdrew consent for unsatisfactory response), while 7 were from the placebo group (3 failed to return, 3 withdrew consent for unsatisfactory response, and 1 withdrew consent for severe nausea). Nine of the omega-3 group and 6 of the placebo group were willing to take open-label omega-3 fatty acids after the study period (including early dropout) until the delivery. Table 1 shows no statistical differences in demographics, clinical charac-teristics, or omega-3 PUFA composition on red blood cells.
Therapeutic Outcomes
As shown in Figure 2, participants in the omega-3 group differed significantly from those in the placebo group in the mean HAM-D score at week 6 and week 8. We used the mixed-model analysis of variance approach for repeated-measurement analyses in the ITT population, and the results indicated that biweekly changes in the scores of HAM-D (F = 7.467, p = .010), EPDS (F = 4.976, p = .033), and BDI (F = 4.695, p = .038) in the Table 1. Demographics, Clinical Characteristics, and
Outcomes (HAM-D, erythrocyte EPA, and DHA) of Pregnant Women Before and After Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder
Omega-3a Placeboa
Variable (N = 18) (N = 18) p Valueb
Age, y 30.9±3.9 31.3±5.7 .84
Gestational weeks 22.7±4.2 24.5±3.9 .20
No. of previous gestations 1.7±1.1 1.8±1.1 .76 No. of previous parturitions 0.4±0.6 0.5±0.7 .80 No. of previous abortions 0.2±0.7 0.3±0.7 .81 Duration of current episode, wk 7.3±2.4 7.2±2.6 .83 No. of previous depressive 0.2±0.4 0.3±0.5 .84
episodes HAM-D score Week 0 22.1±5.0 21.8±3.9 .88 Week 8 9.0±4.0c 13.8±5.3d .02 EPA level, % Week 0 2.9±0.4e 3.0±0.4f .62 Week 8 3.8±1.2d 3.5±1.5g .85 DHA level, % Week 0 3.5±0.5e 3.6±0.7f .51 Week 8 5.4±1.5d 4.6±1.2g .03
aMean±SD; case numbers of both groups were 18 unless otherwise
specified.
bIndependent samples t test results. cN = 13.
dN = 11. eN = 15. fN = 14. gN = 10.
Abbreviations: DHA = docosahexaenoic acid, EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid, HAM-D = 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.
Figure 2. Evolution of the 21-Item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) Scores in Pregnant Women With Depression Treated With Omega-3 PUFAs or Placebo During the Study Perioda
aThe significant differences were noted at week 6 (p = .001)* and
week 8 (p = .019)** by independent-samples t test. All values represent the intent-to-treat population. Biweekly changes in HAM-D scores illustrate a significantly greater decline in the omega-3 group by the mixed-model analysis of variance approach (F = 7.467, p = .010). *p = .001. **p = .019. 25 20 15 10 5
Mean HAM-D Score
Placebo (N = 16) Omega-3 (N = 17) –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Week of Treatment ** *
omega-3 group showed significantly greater declines. On the other hand, the interactions between time and treat-ment assigntreat-ment for those aforetreat-mentioned outcome mea-surements were not significant.
In Table 2, primary and secondary outcome measures at the final study end point are shown with ITT and per-protocol analysis. Also, Table 3 presents a significantly higher response rate in the omega-3 group at weeks 6 and 8 (compared with placebo) and a higher remission rate for the omega-3 group at weeks 4, 6, and 8, but the differences in remission rate did not reach statistical significance. Adverse Events
No participant was withdrawn because of adverse events by investigators’ decision, and 12 of 18 in the pla-cebo group and 10 of 18 in the omega-3 fatty acid group reported no adverse events. The events attributed to treat-ment were insomnia (2 in the placebo group and 3 in the omega-3 group), nausea (4 in the placebo group and 6 in the omega-3 group), and diarrhea (2 in the placebo group and 1 in the omega-3 group). Reported events were mostly mild and self-limited, except 1 occurrence of severe nau-sea in the placebo group that terminated the treatment. There was no effect found in any blood laboratory
param-eter, such as abnormal bleeding time or liver function. No obstetric complication was noted in any participant, and all the newborns were normal in general physical and neurobehavioral examination at birth.
DISCUSSION
This is the first double-blind placebo-controlled trial of omega-3 PUFAs in pregnant women with depression. This is also the first double-blind placebo-controlled trial to demonstrate omega-3 PUFAs’ monotherapy effect on depression, as several other double-blind placebo-controlled trials were done as adjunct therapy.37–41
We found that omega-3 PUFA monotherapy significantly im-proved depressive symptoms in pregnant women with major depressive disorder. The antidepressant effect of omega-3 PUFAs was significantly better than placebo af-ter week 6, a result that appeared to show a delayed effec-tiveness of omega-3 PUFAs, compared to the results of 2 to 4 weeks in nonpregnant patients with major depression reported in previous studies.37–39
The remission rate did not reach a significant difference between the omega-3 and placebo groups. Furthermore, the early dropout rate was high (8/36 for the first 4 weeks) in this study. One Table 2. Effects of Treatment on Total Scores of HAM-D, EPDS, and BDI
Omega-3, Mean±SD Placebo, Mean±SD
Outcome Measure Baseline Week 8 Baseline Week 8 p Valuea
Intent-to-treatb HAM-D 22.3±5.0 9.9±4.3 22.3±3.9 14.6±4.8 .023 EPDS 16.8±3.8 8.5±5.5 17.5±4.0 14.3±6.3 .016 BDI 22.1±9.7 10.8±8.3 23.9±9.3 19.8±11.2 .015 Per protocolc HAM-D 22.1±5.0 9.0±4.0 21.8±3.9 13.8±5.3 .020 EPDS 16.7±3.7 7.1±4.3 17.0±4.0 14.0±7.6 .021 BDI 21.8±9.5 8.8±6.0 23.0±9.2 19.7±13.1 .004
ap Values are based on the pairwise comparisons from the analysis of covariance model with
treatment as the main effect and baseline as the covariate.
bN = 17for the omega-3 group; N = 16 for the placebo group. cN = 13 for the omega-3 group; N = 11 for the placebo group.
Abbreviations: BDI = 21-item Beck Depression Inventory, EPDS = Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, HAM-D = 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.
Table 3. Response Rate and Remission Rate Defined by the Change of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression Score
Variable Week 0 Week 2 Week 4 Week 6 Week 8
Patients with 50% reduction, N/N (%)
Omega-3 0/18 (0) 3/17 (18) 6/14 (43) 9/14 (64) 8/13 (62)
Placebo 0/18 (0) 3/16 (19) 2/14 (14) 2/12 (17) 3/11 (27)
p Valuea … .94 .09 .01 .03
Patients with score≤7, N/N (%)
Omega-3 0/18 (0) 1/17 (6) 2/14 (14) 5/14 (36) 5/13 (38)
Placebo 0/18 (0) 1/16 (6) 1/14 (7) 2/12 (17) 2/11 (18)
p Valuea … .97 .54 .28 .28
aχ2 test results.
possible explanation is that the antidepressant effect of omega-3 PUFAs was not as effective in pregnant women as in nonpregnant depressed patients. The other explana-tion is that the participants in this study were aware and expecting the continuous open-label omega-3 PUFA treat-ment when the study ended. We also observed that most participants expressed a high interest in the “nutrition therapy” option when entering this study, which might lead to a choice not to continue the trial eventually if they did not experience the improvement they expected and guessed they were in the placebo arm.
There are 2 potential mechanisms of omega-3 PUFAs’ effect on depression during pregnancy. First, a profound decrease of omega-3 PUFAs in pregnant women due to the high demand of fetal development23,24
might precipi-tate depression43
because omega-3 PUFAs’ deficit can in-duce serotonergic dysfunctions52–54
and has been reported extensively in patients with major depressive disorder.29–33
Another possible mechanism is that omega-3 PUFAs play an important role in mood stabilization by targeting parts of the “arachidonic acid cascade.”55
The arachidonic acid cascade hypothesis in mood disorders has been supported by other studies, including the higher levels of arachi-donic acid and increased activity of phospholipase A2, a
major metabolic enzyme of arachidonic acid, in patients with mood disorders32,33,51,56
and the inhibitory effect on phospholipase A2 activity of mood stabilizers.
57–60
The treatment was well tolerated with few adverse events. The only patient who withdrew from the study did so due to severe nausea and was in the placebo group. This finding is consistent with the finding in the Freeman et al.44
open-label trial that no dropout occurred due to omega-3 PUFAs’ side effects in 15 pregnant depressed patients. Also, there was no obstetric or newborn compli-cation noted, which is very important because the adverse effects of medication to the fetus are the major concern for women when considering pharmacotherapy during pregnancy.61,62
In the light of an ideal treatment for perina-tal depression, which should be harmless for both mothers and newborns, in uterus and even during breastfeeding,63
omega-3 fatty acids have established their safety and ben-efits during pregnancy45,64
and thus deserve further at-tention of clinical study and application as a treatment modality for perinatal depression.
There are matters needing further attention when ap-plying the findings of this study to clinical practice. First, the optimal composition and the dosage of EPA and DHA for treatment of depression during pregnancy require fur-ther exploration. It has been suggested that fur-there is a pos-sible dose-dependent relation of the antidepressant effect of EPA; however, heterogeneity in the severity of depres-sion, difference in the body EPA and DHA composition, and dietary intake of fish should be taken into account.36
Taiwan is a high fish-consuming country,28
and pregnant women generally consume even more fish for a better
source of nutrition as suggested.65
When compared with previous clinical trials for nonpregnant depressed popula-tions, the daily dose used in this study (3.4 g per day) was higher than the effective dose of clinical studies from the United Kingdom (1 to 2 g/day)39
or Israel (2 g/day),38
but lower than that of our previous study (6.6 g/day) in Tai-wan.37
Being aware of the relationship between depres-sion and low fish intake in some epidemiologic studies, it will be of interest to know if pregnant depressed patients, who had a low content of bodily omega-3 PUFAs, will re-spond to a lower dose than nonpregnant depressed pa-tients with normal contents. Second, the supplement of omega-3 PUFAs in this study induced a significant in-crease in the DHA level, but not the EPA level. This could result from the small sample size; however, it might imply that DHA level had a stronger relationship with depres-sion than EPA did. The correlations of omega-3 fatty acid concentrations and behavioral parameters in the rat model of depression have been examined, and it was found that the level of brain DHA, not EPA, was negatively cor-related to depression-like behaviors.66
Furthermore, the changes of EPA and DHA levels in this study might not reach a steady state because that is expected to take more than 12 weeks.67
Finally, caution should be taken because the high discontinuation rate (33%) and the lack of infor-mation about compliance might bias our results.
To date, no psychotropic drugs have been approved to be safe during pregnancy and breast-feeding, which chal-lenges psychiatrists with the difficult task of recommend-ing pharmacotherapy to pregnant patients.68
Knowledge of risks of psychotropic medications to the fetus of prena-tal exposure is still limited, and it is neither feasible nor ethical to conduct prospective, case-control studies for the benefits and risks of antidepressant agents during pregnancy. Thus, the appropriate data from alternative, nondrug treatments are important. In regard to the safety issue and psychotherapeutic effect, as well as health pro-motion to mothers and newborns, omega-3 PUFAs are a promising agent for patients with major depressive dis-order during pregnancy. Replicated studies in a larger sample with a broad regimen of dose and composition of omega-3 PUFAs in pregnant depression are needed before we could suggest omega-3 PUFAs as the first-line treat-ment for depressive disorders during pregnancy.
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Editor’s Note: We encourage authors to submit papers for
consideration as a part of our Focus on Women’s Mental Health section. Please contact Marlene Freeman, M.D., at mfreeman@psychiatrist.com.
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