Trial reportBMC pregnancy and childbirth2017
Omega-3 supplementation from pregnancy to postpartum to prevent depressive symptoms: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01660165 (Mental Health and Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Postpartum), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 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.
Mental Health and Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Postpartum: A Prospective Study With a Nested Clinical Trial
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to Prevent Relapse or Recurrence of Preconception Anxiety and/or Depression in Perinatal Women: A Systematic Review.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Pooled it
- Proactive approaches to preventing postpartum depression in non-depressive pregnant women: a comprehensive scoping review.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acid addition during pregnancy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Comparative Efficacy of Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Postpartum Depression: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Supplementary approaches to perinatal depression: a review of pathogenesis, herbal interventions, and dietary supplements.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Review
- Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)-Should They Be Mandatory Supplements in Pregnancy?Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Marine natural products: potential agents for depression treatment.Acta biochimica Polonica · 2024Review
- A Critical Look at Omega-3 Supplementation: A Thematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- DHA supplementation and pregnancy complications.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- Dietary Supplementations and Depression.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2022Review
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of omega-3 fatty acids in depression.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Review
- Promising leads and pitfalls: a review of dietary supplements and hormone treatments to prevent postpartum blues and postpartum depression.Archives of women's mental health · 2021Review
- Imbalance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Early Pregnancy Is Predictive of Postpartum Depression in a Belgian Cohort.Nutrients · 2019Observational
- How often do women use non-drug treatment methods for psyschiatric symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum periods?Mental illness · 2019Article
- Food for Mood: Relevance of Nutritional Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Depression and Anxiety.Frontiers in physiology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been linked to depression, but the preventive effect of n-3PUFAs supplementation on maternal depression needs further investigation. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a daily dose of n-3 PUFAs supplementation (fish oil) on the prevention of postpartum depression (PPD).
methodsA randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial was designed and nested into a cohort study conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sixty pregnant women identified as being at risk for PPD were invited and randomly assigned to receive fish oil capsules [1.8 g (1.08 g of Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and 0.72 g of Docosapentaenoic (DHA) acids)] or placebo (control). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was scored at 5-13 (T0, baseline), 22-24 (T1), 30-32 weeks of gestation (T2) and 4-6 weeks' postpartum (T3). Supplementation started at week 22-24 of gestation (T1) and lasted for 16 weeks. Serum fatty acids were assayed to evaluate compliance. Prevalence of EPDS ≥11 was the primary outcome, and mean and changes in EPDS score, length of gestation, and birth weight the secondary outcomes. Linear mixed-effect (LME) and random-intercept logistic regression models were performed to test the effect of fish oil supplementation on prevalence of EPDS ≥11 and EPDS scores variation.
resultsIn intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, at 30-32 weeks' gestation women in the fish oil presented higher serum concentration of EPA, DHA and lower n-6/n-3 ratio comparing to the control group. There were no differences between intervention and control groups in the prevalence of EPDS ≥11, EPDS scores over time, or in changes in EPDS scores from pregnancy to postpartum in either the ITT or per-protocol analyses. Women in the fish oil group with previous history of depression presented a higher reduction on the EPDS score from the second to the third trimester in the fish oil comparing to the control group in the ITT analyses [-1.0 (-3.0-0.0) vs. -0.0 (-1.0-3.0), P = 0.038). These results were confirmed on the LME model (β = -3.441; 95%CI: -6.532- -0.350, P = 0.029).
conclusionDaily supplementation of 1.8 g of n-3 PUFAs during 16 weeks did not prevent maternal depressive symptoms in a sample of Brazilian women.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01660165 . Retrospectively registered on 24 May 2012.
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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.