Can Omega-3 Reduce Anxiety and Inflammation?

A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.

The findings, which are published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity, suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have long been considered as positive additives to the diet. Earlier research suggested that the compounds might play a role in reducing the level of cytokines in the body, compounds that promote inflammation and may help reduce depression.

Because psychological stress has repeatedly been shown to increase cytokine production, a team of researchers led by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD, of Ohio State set out to determine whether increasing omega-3 might mitigate that process, reducing inflammation. To test their theory, they studied medical students, a group that has been shown to demonstrate lowered immune status due to stress from important tests.

“We hypothesized that giving some students omega-3 supplements would decrease their production of proinflammatory cytokines, compared to other students who only received a placebo,” said Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser in a statement. “We thought the omega-3 would reduce the stress-induced increase in cytokines that normally arose from nervousness over the tests.”

A group of 68 first- and second-year medical students were randomly divided into 6 groups, all of which were interviewed 6 times during the study. At each visit, blood samples were drawn from the students who also completed a battery of psychological surveys intended to gauge their levels of stress, anxiety, or depression. The students also completed questionnaires about their diets during the previous weeks.

Half the students received omega-3 supplements while the other half were given placebo pills.

“The supplement was probably about four or five times the amount of fish oil you’d get from a daily serving of salmon, for example,” explained Martha Belury, PhD, a co-author in the study.

The researchers, however, ran into a hitch during the study. Changes in the medical curriculum and the distribution of major tests throughout the year, rather than during a tense three-day period as was done in the past, removed much of the stress that medical students had shown in past studies.

“These students were not anxious. They weren’t really stressed. They were actually sleeping well throughout this period, so we didn’t get the stress effect we had expected,” Kiecolt-Glaser said.

However, the psychological surveys clearly showed an important change in anxiety among the students, they found. Those receiving the omega-3 showed a 20% reduction in anxiety compared to the placebo group.

An analysis of the of the blood samples from the medical students showed similar important results.

However, although the study showed the positive impact omega-3 supplements can play in reducing both anxiety and inflammation, the researchers aren’t willing to recommend that the public start adding them to the daily diet.

"It may be too early to recommend a broad use of omega-3 supplements throughout the public, especially considering the cost and the limited supplies of fish needed to supply the oil,” said Dr. Belury.  “People should just consider increasing their omega-3 through their diet.”