Male intake of omega-3 fatty acids and risk of intimate partner violence perpetration: a nationwide birth cohort – the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Abstract

Aims Intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has favourable effects on reducing aggressive and violent behaviours, but its association with perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) is not known. We aimed to determine the association between male intake of omega-3 PUFAs and risk of IPV perpetration. Methods Participants were male–female pairs in the Japan Environment and Children's Study, in which first pregnant women and then their partners were enrolled (analytic sample: n = 48 065). Male intake of omega-3 PUFAs during the past year (preconception to mid/late pregnancy) was determined using a food frequency questionnaire. IPV (physical violence and emotional abuse) during pregnancy was measured using a self-reported questionnaire completed by pregnant women in mid/late pregnancy. Generalised additive mixed-model analysis was used to examine the non-linear association between energy-adjusted male omega-3 PUFA intake and the adjusted prevalence of male IPV perpetration. Results A sharply decreasing regression curve was plotted for physical violence, with prevalence starting at 1.35% at the lowest intake level and decreasing to a minimum value of 0.76% at intake of 2.20 g/day (71.7th percentile). However, prevalence largely remained flat from there onward, with the upper limit of the error range not reaching the initial lower limit of the error range until intake exceeded 5.21 g/day (99.77th percentile). For emotional abuse, on the other hand, there was a distorted U- or V-shaped regression curve that rose slightly after reaching a minimum. The prevalence declined from 17.69% initially, reached a minimum at 12.44% at 2.13 g/day (68.3th percentile), and then rose slightly. The lower limit of the error range reached the minimum upper limit at 4.17 g/day (99.1th percentile), and the upper limit finally reached the maximum lower limit value at 4.56 g/day (99.5th percentile). Conclusions In this nationwide birth cohort study, higher male intake of omega-3 PUFAs was associated with lower risk of physical violence and emotional abuse perpetration except for extremely high intake. Our results indicate the potential applicability of omega-3 PUFAs in reducing aggressive and violent behaviours in IPV. Trial registration: UMIN000030786.

Inverse Association Between Mothers’ Cognitive Social Capital During Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“… 5 , 45 Among them, those measured during early pregnancy (mean ± S.D., 16.7 ± 7.6 weeks of gestation) were pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (< 18.5, 18.5–25, or > 25 kg/m 2 ), marital status (married or non-married), physician-diagnosed history of major psychiatric diseases (ie, depression, anxiety disorder, or schizophrenia) (yes or no), physician-diagnosed history of any physical diseases (yes or no), parity (primiparous or multiparous), negative attitude toward pregnancy (yes or no), psychological distress measured by using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) 46 with a cut-off score ≥ 13 (yes or no), 47 , 48 living with partner (yes or no), parents (yes or no), or parents-in-law (yes or no), 49 and area of residence (area A–O). Those measured during the mid-late pregnancy (mean ± S.D., 28.2 ± 6.4 weeks of gestation) were maternal age (≤ 25, > 25–< 36, or ≥ 36 years old), education status (≤ 12 years [ie, high school graduate], > 12–< 16 years, or ≥ 16 years [ie, undergraduate or graduate]), employment status (employed or unemployed), household income level (< 4, 4–< 6, or ≥ 6 million JPY/year), smoking status (yes or no), drinking status (yes or no), recent experience of stressful life events (yes or no), experience of verbal abuse and/or domestic violence from partner (yes or no), 50 parity (primiparous or multiparous), and pet ownership (none, dog(s) only, cat(s) only, both dog(s) and cat(s)). 51 For more details, see Supplementary Table 1 .…”

Nutritional factors associated with aggression

“…Particular attention has been drawn to investigations of the role of omega-3 on aggressive behavior. Adding to meta-analytic evidence of a small, significant association between reduced omega-3 fatty acids and increased aggression in observational studies ( 18 ), data from a large nationwide birth cohort show that increased omega-3 intake by mothers during pregnancy was associated with fewer cases of aggressive behavior toward their baby ( 19 ) and that higher male dietary intake of omega-3 was associated with lower risk of physical violence toward their partners except in cases of extremely high omega-3 intake ( 20 ). A similar pattern of findings is seen at younger ages.…”