Effect of High Ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs on Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

Yuanyuan Wang; Lirong Dong; Da Pan; Dengfeng Xu; Yifei Lu; Shiyu Yin; Shaokang Wang; Hui Xia; Wang Liao; Guiju Sun

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.889576

Effect of High Ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs on Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

Front Nutr. 2022 May 19:9:889576. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.889576. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yuanyuan Wang¹, Lirong Dong², Da Pan¹, Dengfeng Xu¹, Yifei Lu¹, Shiyu Yin¹, Shaokang Wang¹, Hui Xia¹, Wang Liao^{1

3}, Guiju Sun^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
² Department of Integrated Service and Management, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China.
³ China-DRIs Expert Committee on Macronutrients, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the association between high ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and depression.

Methods: The authors conducted a meta-analysis of research articles on the association of high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs with the risk of depression published in the online article database on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library as of December 2021. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated using random effects models. Publication bias was assessed visually by funnel plots and statistically by the Egger's and Begg's tests.

Results: Finally, 12 studies included in this systematic review and meta-analysis with a total of 66,317 participants (including 4,173 individuals with depression condition). The pooled results showed that high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs might be positively associated with depression [OR = 1.21, 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.04∼1.41]. The I² test indicated that there was a substantial statistical heterogeneity across the included studies (I ² = 54.38%, P = 0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs in blood had no significant association with depression (OR = 1.15, 95%CI: 0.88∼1.50), while high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs in dietary supplements was positively associated with depression (OR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.16∼1.51).

Conclusion: This meta-analysis confirmed the association between high ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs and the risk of depression. High ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs in dietary supplementation was positively associated with depression, but had no significant association in the blood. This study suggested that lowering the dietary intake of the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs would be beneficial in the prevention of depression.

Keywords: depression; n-3; n-6; polyunsaturated fatty acids; prospective study.

Publication types

Systematic Review