Posted by Larry Hoover on March 1, 2007, at 10:42:46
In reply to Little Evidence Omega-3 Fights Depression: Study, posted by Joe Bloe on February 22, 2007, at 1:39:54
For some reason, the BMJ site that hosted the original article has been down ever since the day I first saw the lay press article, posted by JB. However, today the page opened, and here's a link to the original text: http://press.psprings.co.uk/dtb/February/dtbfeb.pdf
I'm comforted to note that the study I posted in refutation of what I took to be a slam on fish oil was a central part of the scholarly article.
I think it's an interesting exercise to contrast exact quotations from the two pieces of work, the academic press and the lay press versions.
Lay press:
"Along with their conclusion that omega-3 has little or no effect on depression..."Original, academic press:
"CONCLUSION:
Despite observational evidence linking depression with reduced intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, there is no convincing basis for using these nutrients as a sole treatment for the condition. There is limited evidence suggesting that long-chain omega-3 fatty acid supplements might help to relieve depression when given in addition to existing antidepressant medication."I don't know about you, but I get entirely different messages from the two 'conclusions'.
As I said, the Freeman et al article was a central point in this review article, and I quote further from the latter:
"One meta-analysis (ref 4) combined all the studies involving adults with unipolar or bipolar depression reported above,(refs 16-24) in which omega-3 fatty acids were used to augment existing treatments or as monotherapy. Best-case and worst-case analyses were carried out, and omega-3 fatty acids were found to produce a statistical improvement compared to placebo under both scenarios (best-case p=0.02, worst-case p=0.03)."The lay press article also confounded the distinction between fish liver oils and fish body oils, and the implications for pregnancy. But, enough analysis. The problem is, the lay press article is the one that went around the world, and was read by most people.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:735013
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20070201/msgs/737320.html