ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2017
Serum n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are inversely associated with longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms during pregnancy.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of High Ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs on Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Omega-3 supplementation from pregnancy to postpartum to prevent depressive symptoms: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Trial
- A low n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio and high level of dietary ɑ-linolenic acid improves sleep behavior in mice with insomnia.Journal of food science and technology · 2024Article
- Review
- DHA supplementation and pregnancy complications.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- Increased LC PUFA Levels in the Serum of Pregnant Women and Their Children as a Result of Dietary Supplementation with 'Omega' Fatty Acids.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Dietary Intake of Micronutrients and Essential Fatty Acids among Overweight or Obese Pregnant Women during Early Pregnancy.Journal of pediatrics, perinatology and child health · 2023Article
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids in middle childhood and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in adolescence.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Article
- Relationship Between Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Psychopathology in the NEURAPRO Clinical Trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Article
- Dietary Intakes of EPA and DHA Omega-3 Fatty Acids among US Childbearing-Age and Pregnant Women: An Analysis of NHANES 2001-2014.Nutrients · 2018Article
- Nutrients and perinatal depression: a systematic review.Journal of nutritional science · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundsN-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been hypothesised to be protective for depression during pregnancy. However, there are few data and no consensus regarding this association. In this line, we aim to evaluate if the concentration of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs, and their ratio, are associated with depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy.
methodA prospective cohort of 172 Brazilian women was followed at 5-13th, 20-26th and 30-36th weeks of gestation. The presence of depressive symptoms was evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at each pregnancy trimester. Depression was defined as an EPDS score ≥11. The concentrations of n-3 [α-linolenic acid; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] and n-6 PUFAs [linoleic acid; γ linolenic acid; eicosadienoic acid; eicosatrienoic acid; arachidonic acid; docosatetraenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid] were expressed as absolute (μg/ml) values. The total n-6/n-3 ratio was calculated. Statistical analyses were performed using univariate and adjusted random intercept logistic model for each fatty acid (FA) considering the longitudinal nature of data. Covariates were selected as potential confounders based on their biological plausibility of having an association with the concentration of FA and depressive symptoms during pregnancy.
resultsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms was high in all pregnancy trimesters (1st = 33.7%; 2nd = 18.9%; 3rd = 17.4%). We did not find differences in means FA concentrations by depressive symptom classification, for each follow-up visit. The women presented a 5% decrease in the odds of having depressive symptoms for each one-week increase in the gestational age. As individual women progressed through pregnancy, higher concentrations of EPA (odds ratio (OR) = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99), DHA (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93-0.99), DPA (OR = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77-0.99) and total n-3 (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99) were associated with a lower odds of depressive symptoms, while higher total n-6/n-3 ratio were associated with greater odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09-1.79). We detected a decrease in the probability of depressive symptoms as concentrations of total n-3 FA, α-linolenic acid, DPA, and DHA increased. We also observed a sharper decline for women with initial greater chance of depressive symptoms compared with those with lower chance of having these symptoms.
conclusionsWe found a high prevalence of depressive symptoms in low-income Brazilian pregnant women and no significant associations between n-6 FA and depressive symptoms. Lower serum concentrations of DHA, EPA and DPA and a higher n-6/n-3 ratio at each pregnancy trimester were associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy.
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