Trial reportJAMA2009
Omega-3 augmentation of sertraline in treatment of depression in patients with coronary heart disease: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in JAMA, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00116857 (Omega-3 for Depression and Other Cardiac Risk Factors), which is not on this map. Cited by 64 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Omega-3 for Depression and Other Cardiac Risk Factors
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding the research landscape of over-the-counter herbal products, dietary supplements, and medications evaluated for depressive symptoms in adults: a scoping review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation for anxiety symptoms: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Psychological interventions for depression and anxiety in patients with coronary heart disease, heart failure or atrial fibrillation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Omega-3 PUFAs' efficacy in the therapy of coronary artery disease combined with anxiety or depression: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The Effects of Omega-3 Supplementation on Depression in Adults with Cardiometabolic Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomised Control Trials.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Psychological and pharmacological interventions for depression in patients with coronary artery disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in depression: A meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Association of Use of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids With Changes in Severity of Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2018Pooled it
- Efficacy of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of depression.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2016Pooled it
- Meta-analysis and meta-regression of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2016Pooled it
- ω-3 Fatty acids for major depressive disorder in adults: an abridged Cochrane review.BMJ open · 2016Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Role of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of depressive disorders: a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.PloS one · 2014Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of depression: systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2012Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in clinical trials in depression.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2011Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Supplementation-induced increase in circulating omega-3 serum levels is not associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms: Results from the MooDFOOD depression prevention trial.Depression and anxiety · 2020Trial
- EPA and DHA as markers of nutraceutical treatment response in major depressive disorder.European journal of nutrition · 2020Trial
- A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Omega-3 and Sertraline in Depressed Patients With or at Risk for Coronary Heart Disease.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2019Trial
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
contextStudies of depressed psychiatric patients have shown that antidepressant efficacy can be increased by augmentation with omega-3 fatty acids.
objectiveTo determine whether omega-3 improves the response to sertraline in patients with major depression and coronary heart disease (CHD). DESIGN, SETTING, AND
participantsRandomized controlled trial. Between May 2005 and December 2008, 122 patients in St Louis, Missouri, with major depression and CHD were randomized.
interventionsAfter a 2-week run-in period, all patients were given 50 mg/d of sertraline and randomized in double-blind fashion to receive 2 g/d of omega-3 acid ethyl esters (930 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and 750 mg of docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) (n=62) or to corn oil placebo capsules (n=60) for 10 weeks.
main outcome measuresScores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D).
resultsAdherence to the medication regimen was 97% or more in both groups for both medications. There were no differences in weekly BDI-II scores (treatment x time interaction = 0.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.33 to 0.36; t(112) = 0.11; P = .91), pre-post BDI-II scores (placebo, 14.8 vs omega-3, 16.1; 95% difference-in-means CI, -4.5 to 2.0; t(116) = -0.77; P = .44), or HAM-D scores (placebo, 9.4 vs omega-3, 9.3; 95% difference-in-means CI, -2.2 to 2.4; t(115) = 0.12; P = .90). The groups did not differ on predefined indicators of depression remission (BDI-II < or = 8: placebo, 27.4% vs omega-3, 28.3%; odds ratio [OR], 0.96; 95% CI, 0.43-2.15; t(113) = -0.11; P = .91) or response (> 50% reduction in BDI-II from baseline: placebo, 49.0% vs omega-3, 47.7%; OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.51-2.19; t(112) = 0.15; P = .88).
conclusionsTreatment of patients with CHD and major depression with sertraline and omega-3 fatty acids did not result in superior depression outcomes at 10 weeks, compared with sertraline and placebo. Whether higher doses of omega-3 or sertraline, a different ratio of EPA to DHA, longer treatment, or omega-3 monotherapy can improve depression in patients with CHD remains to be determined.
trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00116857.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.