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. 2018 Apr;47(4):575-583.

Long Chain n-3 Fatty Acids Improve Depression Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Maryam Mazaherioun  1   2 , Ahmad Saedisomeolia  2   3 , Mohammad Hassan Javanbakht  2 , Fariba Koohdani  2 , Mahnaz Zarei  2 , Samaneh Ansari  2 , Fatemeh Khoshkhoo Bazargani  4 , Mahmoud Djalali  1   2
Affiliations

Long Chain n-3 Fatty Acids Improve Depression Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Maryam Mazaherioun et al. Iran J Public Health. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is commonly associated with depressive symptoms, which affect prognosis and quality of life. We investigated the antidepressant effects of n-3 fatty acids (n-3FAs) monotherapy (without conventional antidepressants) for T2DM patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms.

Methods: A 10-wk, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group (1:1 ratio) randomized trial of n-3FAs (2700 mg/day EPA: DHA ratio=2) versus placebo in 88 Iranian diabetic patients with mild to moderate depression based on Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II-PERSIAN) was conducted. This study started from July 2014 to January 2015 in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The primary event was defined as worsened, non-changed, or inconsiderably improved depression (<5 unit decrease in BDI-II-PERSIAN depression scores after treatment) (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02261545).

Results: Randomly, 44 T2DM patients were treated with n-3FAs supplements and 44 cases received placebo (three patients discontinued). n-3FAs could significantly protect patients against the aforesaid event and exhibit satisfactory prevention (number needed to treat with 95% confidence interval: 2.52, 1.71-4.74). No serious adverse reactions were reported.

Conclusion: n-3FAs supplementation had significant antidepressant effects in T2DM patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms, not confounded by metabolic factors and disease duration.

Keywords: Depression; Randomized controlled trial; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; n-3 fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1:
Changes in BDI-II scores of patients with type II diabetes mellitus before and after intervention
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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