ArticleJournal of affective disorders2010
Selective deficits in erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid composition in adult patients with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02272010 (Targeted Alterations in n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids for the Management of Mood Variability in the Maintenance Phase of Bipolar Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 66 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Targeted Alterations in n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids for the Management of Mood Variability in the Maintenance Phase of Bipolar Disorder
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Evaluation of the arachidonic acid pathway in bipolar disorder: a systematic review.Molecular biology reports · 2020Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of erythrocyte polyunsaturated fatty acid biostatus in bipolar disorder.Bipolar disorders · 2016Pooled it
- Adjunctive dietary intervention for bipolar disorder: a randomized, controlled, parallel-group, modified double-blinded trial of a high n-3 plus low n-6 diet.Bipolar disorders · 2022Trial
- Longitudinal investigation of the relationship between omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and neuropsychological functioning in recent-onset psychosis: A randomized clinical trial.Schizophrenia research · 2021Trial
- The Effect of DHA Supplementation on Cognition in Patients with Bipolar Disorder: An Exploratory Randomized Control Trial.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- n-3 PUFAs improve erythrocyte fatty acid profile in patients with small AAA: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of lipid research · 2019Trial
- Cognitive response to fish oil, blueberry, and combined supplementation in older adults with subjective cognitive impairment.Neurobiology of aging · 2018Trial
- Effect of Omega-3 and -6 Supplementation on Language in Preterm Toddlers Exhibiting Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2017Trial
- Effects of fish oil supplementation on prefrontal metabolite concentrations in adolescents with major depressive disorder: a preliminary 1H MRS study.Nutritional neuroscience · 2016Trial
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation changes intracellular phospholipase A2 activity and membrane fatty acid profiles in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.Molecular psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Omega-3 fatty acids in mental disorders: from neurobiological and metabolic mechanisms to therapeutic potential.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder Symptoms: A Narrative Review of the Current Clinical Evidence.Marine drugs · 2025Review
- Association of plasma arachidonic acid levels with a bipolar disorder and the effects of a FADS gene variant.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Article
- Omega-3 index as risk factor in psychiatric diseases: a narrative review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Perinatal dietary omega-3 fatty acid deficiency reduces maternal nurturing behavior in rats: dissociation from elevated pro-inflammatory signaling.Nutritional neuroscience · 2021Article
- Plasma Cell-Free DNA Methylomics of Bipolar Disorder With and Without Rapid Cycling.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Low Omega-3 intake is associated with high rates of depression and preterm birth on the country level.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- The Association between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Human Brain Connectivity in Middle-Aged Depressed Women.Nutrients · 2020Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEpidemiological and controlled intervention trials suggest that omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid deficiency represents a reversible risk factor for recurrent affective disorders. However, there is limited comparative information available regarding the n-3 fatty acid status and associated mood symptoms in medication-free patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD).
methodsThe fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes from adult male and female healthy controls (n=20) and medication-free patients with MDD (n=20) and BD (n=20) was determined by gas chromatography. Associations with depression and mania symptom severity scores were investigated.
resultsAfter correction for multiple comparisons, both MDD (-20%) and BD (-32%) patients exhibited significantly lower erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) composition relative to healthy controls, and there was a trend for lower DHA in BD patients relative to MDD patients (-15%, p=0.09). There were no gender differences for DHA in any group. Other n-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosapentanoic acid (22:5n-3), and n-6 fatty acids, including arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6), were not different. Erythrocyte DHA composition was inversely correlated with indices of delta-9 desaturase activity (18:1/18:0), and associated elevations in oleic acid (18:1n-9) composition, and delta-6 desaturase activity (20:3/18:2). DHA composition was not significantly correlated with depression or mania symptom severity scores. LIMITATIONS: Data regarding diet and life style factors (cigarette smoking) were not available to evaluate their contribution to the present findings.
conclusionsMale and female patients with MDD and BD exhibit selective erythrocyte DHA deficits relative to healthy controls, and this deficit was numerically greater in BD patients. Selective DHA deficits are consistent with impaired peroxisome function, which has implications for n-3 fatty acid interventions aimed at preventing or reversing this deficit.
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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.