Omega 3 Fatty Acids in Bipolar Disorder: A Preliminary Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Omega3 fatty acids may inhibit neuronal signal transduction pathways in a manner similar to that of lithium carbonate and valproate, 2 effective treatments for bipolar disorder. The present study was performed to examine whether omega3 fatty acids also exhibit mood-stabilizing properties in bipolar disorder. METHODS: A 4-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, comparing omega3 fatty acids (9.6 g/d) vs placebo (olive oil), in addition to usual treatment, in 30 patients with bipolar disorder. RESULTS: A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of the cohort found that the omega3 fatty acid patient group had a significantly longer period of remission than the placebo group (P = .002; Mantel-Cox). In addition, for nearly every other outcome measure, the omega3 fatty acid group performed better than the placebo group. CONCLUSION: Omega3 fatty acids were well tolerated and improved the short-term course of illness in this preliminary study of patients with bipolar disorder.
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In patients with bipolar disorder, omega-3 fatty acids (about 10 g/day) for 4 months resulted in much longer periods of remission than placebo.
“The results have shown that patients taking omega-3 fatty acids have much longer periods of remission than the untreated group (Stoll et al. 1999).”
From Reactive Oxygen Species, Toxicity, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants: Chronic Diseases and Aging (2023) · cites this paper as Stoll et al. 1999
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- Authors
- Stoll, A. L., Severus, W. E., Freeman, M. P., Rueter, S., Zboyan, H. A., Diamond, E., Cress, K. K., & Marangell, L. B.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Venue
- Archives of General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 1999-05-01
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 407
- ISSN
- 0003-990X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2145336951
- Cited by
- 814
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 30.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- omega-3 fatty acids, bipolar disorder, mood stabilization, remission, lithium carbonate, valproic acid, neuronal transduction, dietary supplementation, olive oil placebo
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anticonvulsants, Bipolar Disorder, Carbamazepine, Double-Blind Method, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Humans, Lithium, Male, Middle Aged, Placebos, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Valproic Acid, Signal Transduction, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Treatment Outcome
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