16 November 2014 - Forbes - Can Fish Oils Prevent Or Delay Development Of Psychosis?

A study presented at this year’s International Early Psychosis Conference in Tokyo, Japan (Nov 17-19) shows that people taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements–commonly found in fish oils–who are at high risk of developing psychosis can prevent the condition developing for approximately 7 years.

The investigators believe that this approach, which is both safe and economical, may help keep those with this severe of mental illness more functional, while experiencing fewer episodes or “breaks”.  This would, of course, require additional independent and larger studies to confirm their findings.

“A brief intervention with omega-3 supplements prevented psychosis for almost 7 years after baseline in the individuals at ultra high risk of psychosis who participated in this trial,” according to Dr. Paul Amminger, and co-authors Patrick McGorry of the Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Monika Schlögelhofer, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.