This work may not be copied, distributed, displayed, published, reproduced, transmitted, modified, posted, sold, licensed, or used for commercial purposes. By downloading this file, you are agreeing to the publisher’s Terms & Conditions.

Original Research

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) Status in Major Depressive Disorder With Comorbid Anxiety Disorders

Joanne J. Liu, MS; Hanga C. Galfalvy, PhD; Thomas B. Cooper, MA; Maria A. Oquendo, MD;Michael F. Grunebaum, MD; J. John Mann, MD; and M. Elizabeth Sublette, MD, PhD

Published: July 15, 2013

Article Abstract

Background: Although lower levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are found in major depressive disorder, less is known about PUFA status and anxiety disorders.

Method: Medication-free participants with
DSM-IV-defined major depressive disorder (MDD), with (n = 18) and without (n = 41) comorbid DSM-IV anxiety disorders, and healthy volunteers (n = 62) were recruited from October 2006 to May 2010 for mood disorder studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Participants were 18-73 years of age (mean age, 35.8 ± 12.6 years). Depression and anxiety severity was assessed using depression and anxiety subscales from the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Plasma PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) and the ratio of arachidonic acid (AA; 22:4n-6) to EPA (AA:EPA) were quantified. This secondary analysis employed analysis of variance with a priori planned contrasts to test for diagnostic group differences in log-transformed PUFA levels (logDHA, logEPA, and logAA:EPA).

Results: Plasma levels of logDHA (F2,118 = 4.923, P = .009), logEPA (F2,118 = 6.442, P = .002), and logAA:EPA (F2,118 = 3.806, P = .025) differed across groups. Participants with MDD had lower logDHA (t118 = 2.324, P = .022) and logEPA (t118 = 3.175, P = .002) levels and higher logAA:EPA levels (t118 = -2.099, P = .038) compared with healthy volunteers. Lower logDHA (t118 = 2.692, P = .008) and logEPA (t118 = 2.524, P = .013) levels and higher logAA:EPA levels (t118 = -2.322, P = .022) distinguished anxious from nonanxious MDD. Depression severity was not associated with PUFA plasma levels; however, anxiety severity across the entire sample correlated negatively with logDHA (rp = -0.22, P = .015) and logEPA (rp = -0.25, P = .005) levels and positively with logAA:EPA levels (rp = 0.18, P = .043).

Conclusions: The presence and severity of comorbid anxiety were associated with the lowest EPA and
DHA levels. Further studies are needed to elucidate whether omega-3 PUFA supplementation may preferentially alleviate MDD with more severe anxiety.

J Clin Psychiatry 2013;74(7):732-738

Submitted: June 21, 2012; accepted November 29, 2012 (doi:10.4088/JCP.12m07970).

Corresponding author: M. Elizabeth Sublette, MD, PhD, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 42, New York, NY 10032 ([email protected]).

Volume: 74

Quick Links: Comorbidity , Medical

Continue Reading…

Subscribe to read the entire article

$40.00

Buy this Article as a PDF