Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fattyacids (PUFAs) are essential for neural development and function. As key components of brain tissue,omega-3 PUFAs play critical roles in brain development and function, and a lack of these fattyacids has been implicated in a number of mental health conditions over the lifespan, including schizophrenia.
We have previously shown that a 12-week intervention with omega-3 PUFAs reduced the risk of progression to psychotic disorder in young people with subthreshold psychotic states for a 12-month period compared with placebo. We have now completed a longer-term follow-up of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, at a median of 6.7 years.
Here we show that brief intervention with omega-3 PUFAs reduced both the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and psychiatric morbidity in general in this study. The majority of the individuals from the omega-3 group did not show severe functional impairment and no longer experienced attenuated psychotic symptoms at follow-up.
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For details of the original 12-month study involving these young people, all of whom were originally judged to be at very high risk for developing psychosis, see also: