Trial reportThe Journal of clinical psychiatry2018
A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as a Monotherapy for Adolescent Depression.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00962598 (The Role Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids In Adolescent Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 31 papers, 8 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.
The Role Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids In Adolescent Depression
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse event monitoring, assessment, and reporting in nutraceutical and phytoceutical trials for pediatric neuropsychiatric conditions: A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for depression in children and adolescents.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Nutraceuticals in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acids for depression in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Omega 3 Fatty Acids on Main Dimensions of Psychopathology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: What is Their Role in Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders?International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Pooled it
- ω-3 Fatty Acids in Pediatric Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- The Efficacy of Omega-3 Fatty Acids as the Monotherapy for Depression: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Effects of Fish Oil Monotherapy on Depression and Prefrontal Neurochemistry in Adolescents at High Risk for Bipolar I Disorder: A 12-Week Placebo-Controlled Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Trial.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Review
- Altered Plasma Endocannabinoids and Oxylipins in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorders: A Case-Control Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Review
- Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Depression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Treatment of Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Literature Review.Cureus · 2023Review
- Current Insights into the Use of Probiotics and Fatty Acids in Alleviating Depression.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Omega-3 supplements in the prevention and treatment of youth depression and anxiety symptoms: A scoping review.PloS one · 2023Article
- The Mediterranean Diet and the Western Diet in Adolescent Depression-Current Reports.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Experiences of adolescents and parents on the mental health management of depression in adolescents, North West province, South Africa.Curationis · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveReports are mixed on the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), with only limited data in adolescents. The present trial aimed to investigate systematically the efficacy of O3FA as a monotherapy, compared to a placebo, in adolescents with MDD. Secondarily, we explored O3FA effects on anhedonia, irritability, and suicidality-all key features of adolescent MDD.
methodsFifty-one psychotropic medication-free adolescents with DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of MDD (aged 12-19 years; 57% female) were randomized to receive O3FA or a placebo for 10 weeks. Data were collected between January 2006 and June 2013. O3FA and a placebo were administered on a fixed-flexible dose titration schedule based on clinical response and side effects. The initial dose of 1.2 g/d was increased 0.6 g/d every 2 weeks, up to a maximum of 3.6 g/d. Clinician-rated and self-rated depression severity, along with treatment response, served as primary outcome measures. Additionally, we examined O3FA effects on depression-related symptoms, including anhedonia, irritability, and suicidality. Treatment differences were analyzed via intent-to-treat analyses.
resultsO3FA were not superior to a placebo on any clinical feature, including depression severity and levels of anhedonia, irritability, or suicidality. Additionally, response rates were comparable between treatment groups. Within-treatment analyses indicated that both treatments were associated with significant improvement in depression severity on self- (O3FA: t = -4.38, P < .001; placebo: t = -3.52, P = .002) and clinician (O3FA: t = -6.47, P < .001; placebo: t = -8.10, P < .001) ratings.
conclusionsIn adolescents with MDD, O3FA do not appear to be superior to placebo.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00962598.
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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.