A controlled study of plasma fatty acids in Indian patients with depressive episode

Abstract Aim To study the plasma omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acid levels in patients with depressive episode and in matched healthy controls. Method Thirty patients with first episode depression and thirty healthy matched control subjects were recruited from a tertiary care hospital setting. We measured plasma omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid levels of the study and the control group. Result There were no significant differences in plasma omega 3 fatty acid levels between study group and control group. The plasma omega 6 fatty acid levels of study group were significantly less than that of control group. Conclusions The present study is an initial attempt to investigate the link between fatty acids and depression in a clinical setting in India. This comparative study with normal controls did not etiologically link these polyunsaturated fatty acids in this sample of depressive disorder.