Trial reportBrain, behavior, and immunity2012
Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation in healthy middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 120 papers, 6 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 Dietary Supplementation, Immune Function, and Mood
Effects of 12 Weeks of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Metabolic and Physical Health Parameters in Older Adults
Who cites it
120 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 228 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Postoperative Inflammatory Response: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Nutritional Support with Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Burn Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrients · 2022Pooled 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
- Pooled 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
- Dietary Soybean vs. Palm Oils Differ in Effects on Liver Fat in Adults With MAFLD: A 16-Week, Double-Masked, Randomized Controlled Trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Trial
- Modulation of inflammasome components in patients with heart failure using oral nutritional supplements: investigating the molecular mechanisms beyond the clinical benefit.European journal of nutrition · 2026Trial
- Myokine Circulating Levels in Postmenopausal Women with Overweight or Obesity: Effects of Resistance Training and/or DHA-RichNutrients · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of omega-3 supplementation on psychological symptoms in men with prostate cancer: Secondary analysis of a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial.Cancer medicine · 2023Trial
- Omega-3 fatty acids reduce depressive symptoms only among the socially stressed: A corollary of the social signal transduction theory of depression.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Prevention of covid-19 and other acute respiratory infections with cod liver oil supplementation, a low dose vitamin D supplement: quadruple blinded, randomised placebo controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Trial
- Omega-3 supplementation and stress reactivity of cellular aging biomarkers: an ancillary substudy of a randomized, controlled trial in midlife adults.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Omega-3 Supplementation Improves Isometric Strength But Not Muscle Anabolic and Catabolic Signaling in Response to Resistance Exercise in Healthy Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Trial
- A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as a Monotherapy for Adolescent Depression.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid reduces high levels of circulating proinflammatory cytokines in aging adults: A randomized, controlled study.Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Omega-3 Supplementation and the Neural Correlates of Negative Affect and Impulsivity: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Midlife Adults.Psychosomatic medicine · 2017Trial
60 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 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Observational studies have linked lower levels of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with inflammation and depression. This study was designed to determine whether n-3 supplementation would decrease serum cytokine production and depressive symptoms in 138 healthy middle-aged and older adults (average age=51.04, SD=7.76) who were sedentary and overweight (average BMI=30.59, SD=4.50). This three-arm randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 4-month trial compared responses to (1) 2.5 g/d n-3 PUFAs, or (2) 1.25 g/d n-3 PUFAs, or (3) placebo capsules that mirrored the proportions of fatty acids in the typical American diet. Serum interleukin-6 decreased by 10% and 12% in our low and high dose n-3 groups, respectively, compared to a 36% increase in the placebo group. Similarly, low and high dose n-3 groups showed modest 0.2% and -2.3% changes in serum tumor necrosis factor alpha, compared to a 12% increase in the control group. Depressive symptoms were quite low at baseline and did not change significantly in response to supplementation. Our data suggest that n-3 PUFAs can reduce inflammation in overweight, sedentary middle-aged and older adults, and thus could have broad health benefits. These data provide a window into the ways in which the n-3 PUFAs may impact disease initiation, progression, and resolution. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00385723.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.