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N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment

A growing body of clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that low dietary intake and/or tissue levels of n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are associated with postpartum depression. Low tissue levels of n-3 PUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are reported in patie...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Levant, Beth
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989696/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151517
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/467349
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author Levant, Beth
author_facet Levant, Beth
author_sort Levant, Beth
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description A growing body of clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that low dietary intake and/or tissue levels of n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are associated with postpartum depression. Low tissue levels of n-3 PUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are reported in patients with either postpartum or nonpuerperal depression. Moreover, the physiological demands of pregnancy and lactation put childbearing women at particular risk of experiencing a loss of DHA from tissues including the brain, especially in individuals with inadequate dietary n-3 PUFA intake or suboptimal metabolic capabilities. Animal studies indicate that decreased brain DHA in postpartum females leads to several depression-associated neurobiological changes including decreased hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and augmented hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Taken together, these findings support a role for decreased brain n-3 PUFAs in the multifactorial etiology of depression, particularly postpartum depression. These findings, and their implications for research and clinical practice, are discussed.
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spelling pubmed-29896962010-12-13 N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment Levant, Beth Depress Res Treat Review Article A growing body of clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that low dietary intake and/or tissue levels of n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are associated with postpartum depression. Low tissue levels of n-3 PUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are reported in patients with either postpartum or nonpuerperal depression. Moreover, the physiological demands of pregnancy and lactation put childbearing women at particular risk of experiencing a loss of DHA from tissues including the brain, especially in individuals with inadequate dietary n-3 PUFA intake or suboptimal metabolic capabilities. Animal studies indicate that decreased brain DHA in postpartum females leads to several depression-associated neurobiological changes including decreased hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and augmented hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Taken together, these findings support a role for decreased brain n-3 PUFAs in the multifactorial etiology of depression, particularly postpartum depression. These findings, and their implications for research and clinical practice, are discussed. Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2011 2010-10-27 /pmc/articles/PMC2989696/ /pubmed/21151517 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/467349 Text en Copyright © 2011 Beth Levant. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Review Article
Levant, Beth
N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title_full N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title_fullStr N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title_full_unstemmed N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title_short N-3 (Omega-3) Fatty Acids in Postpartum Depression: Implications for Prevention and Treatment
title_sort n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids in postpartum depression: implications for prevention and treatment
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989696/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151517
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/467349
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