Does Fish Oil Prevent Depression in Pregnancy and Postpartum?

Summary

This study is designed to test whether an alternative medicine treatment, fish oil, will prevent depressive symptoms in pregnant and postpartum women who have been found to be at risk for depression. Epidemiologists have observed that people who live in countries where people on average eat a diet high in fish have a lower risk of depression than people who live in populations that eat less fish. Postpartum depression is also less common in these countries. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil are thought to be responsible for this beneficial effect of eating fish. The two major omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is an essential building block of the brain and nerve tissue. EPA may act to optimize the electrical signals between nerve cells and brain cells and may help the immune system to function well. Some researchers have treated people who are already suffering from depression with fish oil. Some of these studies have shown a benefit for the fish oil treatment and others have not. These studies have tested EPA and DHA alone and in various combinations. Currently, it is not known whether EPA or DHA is more effective in preventing and treating depression. Some of the researchers involved in this study have learned how to identify mothers who are most at risk for developing depression during and after pregnancy. This study is designed to learn whether EPA-rich and DHA-rich fish oil supplements will prevent depressive symptoms in women who are at risk to develop depression.

Timeline

Start

2008-09

Primary completion

2012-08

Completion

2013-01

Publications

• Background Mozurkewich E, Chilimigras J, Klemens C, Keeton K, Allbaugh L, Hamilton S, Berman D, Vazquez D, Marcus S, Djuric Z, Vahratian A. The mothers, Omega-3 and mental health study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2011 Jun 22;11:46. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-11-46.
• Results Mozurkewich EL, Greenwood M, Clinton C, Berman D, Romero V, Djuric Z, Qualls C, Gronert K. Pathway Markers for Pro-resolving Lipid Mediators in Maternal and Umbilical Cord Blood: A Secondary Analysis of the Mothers, Omega-3, and Mental Health Study. Front Pharmacol. 2016 Sep 7;7:274. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00274. eCollection 2016.
• Results Williams JA, Romero VC, Clinton CM, Vazquez DM, Marcus SM, Chilimigras JL, Hamilton SE, Allbaugh LJ, Vahratian AM, Schrader RM, Mozurkewich EL. Vitamin D levels and perinatal depressive symptoms in women at risk: a secondary analysis of the mothers, omega-3, and mental health study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016 Aug 3;16(1):203. doi: 10.1186/s12884-016-0988-7.
• Results Romero VC, Somers EC, Stolberg V, Clinton C, Chensue S, Djuric Z, Berman DR, Treadwell MC, Vahratian AM, Mozurkewich E. Developmental programming for allergy: a secondary analysis of the Mothers, Omega-3, and Mental Health Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Apr;208(4):316.e1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.01.024.
• Results Mozurkewich EL, Clinton CM, Chilimigras JL, Hamilton SE, Allbaugh LJ, Berman DR, Marcus SM, Romero VC, Treadwell MC, Keeton KL, Vahratian AM, Schrader RM, Ren J, Djuric Z. The Mothers, Omega-3, and Mental Health Study: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Apr;208(4):313.e1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.01.038.
• Results Ren J, Mozurkewich EL, Sen A, Vahratian AM, Ferreri TG, Morse AN, Djuric Z. Total Serum Fatty Acid Analysis by GC-MS: Assay Validation and Serum Sample Stability. Curr Pharm Anal. 2013;9(4):331-339. doi: 10.2174/1573412911309040002.
• Results Berman D, Clinton C, Limb R, Somers EC, Romero V, Mozurkewich E. Prenatal Omega-3 Supplementation and Eczema Risk among Offspring at Age 36 Months. Insights Allergy Asthma Bronchitis. 2016;2(1):1. doi: 10.21767/2471-304X.100014. Epub 2016 Apr 10.
• England JA, Jain J, Holbrook BD, Schrader R, Qualls C, Mozurkewich E. Effect of prenatal EPA and DHA on maternal and cord blood insulin sensitivity: a secondary analysis of the mothers, omega 3, and mental health study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2019 Nov 29;19(1):452. doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2599-6.
• Mozurkewich EL, Berman DR, Vahratian A, Clinton CM, Romero VC, Chilimigras JL, Vazquez D, Qualls C, Djuric Z. Effect of prenatal EPA and DHA on maternal and umbilical cord blood cytokines. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018 Jun 26;18(1):261. doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-1899-6.

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