ArticleScientific reports2020
Low Omega-3 intake is associated with high rates of depression and preterm birth on the country level.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Global Access to Uncontaminated Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Requires Attention.AJPM focus · 2025Article
- Country-level incidence of Alzheimer disease and related dementias is associated with increased omega-6-PUFA consumption.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Relationship Between Obesity and Depression Considering the Inflammatory Theory.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Pathogenesis of HIV-associated depression: contributing factors and underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Lipid metabolic dysregulation-induced neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Review
- Adolescent girls in aquaculture ecozones at risk of nutrient deficiency in Bangladesh development and validation of an integrated metric.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Dietary Fats and Depressive Symptoms in Italian Adults.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Association of serum docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid levels with dietary intakes and supplement use during pregnancy: a prospective observational study.Journal of nutritional science · 2023Observational
- Biological Role of Nutrients, Food and Dietary Patterns in the Prevention and Clinical Management of Major Depressive Disorder.Nutrients · 2022Review
- The function of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in response to cadmium exposure.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Nutrition, Epigenetics, and Major Depressive Disorder: Understanding the Connection.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Low circulating levels of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC omega-3 PUFA) have been linked to major depressive disorder (MDD) and preterm birth (PTB), and prenatal depression associates with PTB. We therefore hypothesized that low Omega-3 intake would associate with higher MDD and PTB rates on the country-level. To test this hypothesis, we obtained country-level estimates for omega-3 intake, MDD prevalence, PTB rate, and per capita income for 184 countries in 2010. We then estimated the LC omega-3 PUFA levels that these intakes produce by accounting for direct consumption and the endogenous conversion of ingested plant-based precursors. Penalized splines indicated that MDD and PTB rates decreased linearly with increasing LC omega-3 PUFA, up to ~ 1000 mg/day for MDD and up to ~ 550 mg/day for PTB. Adjusted linear regression models below these thresholds revealed that a one standard deviation increase in LC omega-3 PUFA (380 mg/day) was associated with an MDD decrease of 5 cases/1000 people and a PTB decrease of 15 cases/1000 livebirths. In light of the extensive prior evidence on the individual-level, these findings indicate that low intake of LC omega-3 PUFA and its precursors may be elevating MDD and PTB rates in 85% of the countries studied.
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