Login or Register

Essential Fatty Acids & Suicide

May 21, 2011 | By Angela Ogunjimi
Essential Fatty Acids & Suicide
Photo Credit Depression image by Friday from Fotolia.com

Some essential fatty acids, or EFAs, owe their claim to fame to their beneficial effect on brain health. Now, some evidence suggests that lacking certain EFAs is linked with depression and possibly suicide ideation and attempts. Although larger clinical trials are needed to confirm this association, preliminary reports say that it is possible that EFAs could one day be therapeutic for mental health patients.

Essential Facts of EFAs

Fatty acids are called essential because your body needs them but can't make them on its own. You are probably familiar with the terms omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Both are polyunsaturated fats, and both are essential fatty acids. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, both types play an important role in brain function. Omega-6s, found in many vegetable oils, treat nerve issues and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Omega-3s, which are most strongly tied to suicide research, are also found in vegetable oils, certain fish, nuts, seeds and leafy vegetables. Omega-3s are said to be highly concentrated in the brain and are significant to cognitive and behavioral health.

EFAs, the Brain and Depression

According to AskDrSears.com, 60 percent of your brain is composed of fatty acid tissue. An oncologist publishing in the "The Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine," said omega-3 fatty acids specifically compose about 15 percent of the total fatty fatty acids in your entire central nervous system. Dukagjin M. Blaka of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, said omega-3s face greater scrutiny in mental health circles because of the particular way they concentrate in the synapse membranes and because they regulate immune functions that affect the central nervous system. His review suggested that because you have to eat your omega-3s, it's possible to get too little of it, and if you do get too little, problematic changes in your central nervous system, including depression, could result.

Omega 3s and Suicide

A group of researchers publishing in the "American Journal of Psychiatry" narrow the link to suicide and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which is one of the three omega-3s fatty acids. To test, they measured the amount of polyunsaturated fats in the blood lipids of 33 people diagnosed with depression who were also being monitored for suicide attempts. Over two years, seven of the participants made an attempt. Two died. The researchers found that having low DHA, along with an imbalance of omega-3s and omega-6s, predicted which participants made a suicide attempt. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that Americans typically consume 14 to 25 times more omega-6 than omega-3s, and that imbalance has been associated with a range of health problems, including obesity, depression and anxiety.

Why Suicide?

The "American Journal of Psychiatry" researchers posit that the amount of polyunsaturated fats affects the very biological factors that lead to depression. While acknowledging some limitations to their study, the authors said their findings merits a controlled trial to clarify the link. The "Einstein Journal" author said one theory as to why low omega-3s causes mental health issues centers on their regulation of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Another theory, called the macrophage theory of depression, suggesting the actions of immune system cells lead to depression. The author said evidence includes the fact that clinical depression often goes hand-in-hand with heightened activity of the inflammation response of the immune system.

References

Article reviewed by GlennK Last updated on: May 21, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments