"We believe our findings are important because depressed patients without comorbid anxiety disorder account for about half of all depressed patients," Francois Lesperance, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, in Quebec.
"And, in fact, the level of improvement we saw in this subgroup is on a par with what has typically been reported with pharmacologic treatments. Many depressed patients prefer to avoid drug treatment because of the stigma associated with such therapy, not to mention potential treatment-related side effects, and thus it's nice to be able to offer patients an alternative treatment that is similarly effective but without the risks," he added.
Dr. Lesperance presented results in 432 patients with an episode of major depression who had been randomized to 8 weeks of treatment with 1050 mg per day of eicosapentenoic acid — an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil — or matched placebo masked with fish odor.
Also, most epidemiological studies have found low levels of omega-3 and high levels of omega-6/omega-3 ratios in depressed individuals compared with controls.
"Current depression treatments have severe limitations," Dr. Lesperance observed. "First, they are not sufficiently effective, with only about 30% experiencing a full remission after 8 weeks of treatment," he said.
"Also, 20% of patients stop treatment within the first 2 months because of problems with tolerability."
"For patients without comorbid anxiety disorder, the only downside I can think of with omega-3 supplements it that they are not reimbursed, and their cost is not insignificant," Dr. Lesperance said.
Bonnie - let's hope that all psychiatrists read this study as well as the researchers comments!
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