The effect of docosahexaenoic acid on aggression in young adults. A placebo-controlled double-blind study.

Abstract

Abstract41 students took either docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich oil capsules containing 1.5-1.8 grams DHA ր day (17 females and 5 males) or control oil capsules containing 97% soybean oil plus 3% fish oil (12 females and 7 males) for 3 mo in a double-blind fashion. They took a psychological test (P-F Study) and Stroop and dementia-detecting tests at the start and end of the study. The present study started at the end of summer vacation and ended in the middle of mental stress such as final exams. In the control group extraggression (aggression against others) in P-F Study was significantly increased at the end of the study as compared with that measured at the start ( ⌬ ϭ ϩ 8.9%, P ϭ 0.0022), whereas it was not significantly changed in the DHA group ( ⌬ ϭ Ϫ 1.0%). The 95% CI of differences between the DHA and control groups were Ϫ 16.8 to Ϫ 3.0%. DHA supplementation did not affect the Stroop and dementia-detecting tests. Thus, DHA intake prevented extraggression from increasing at times of mental stress. This finding might help understand how fish oils prevent disease like coronary heart disease.

n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: a nutritional tool to prevent insulin resistance associated to type 2 diabetes and obesity?

“…n-3 LC-PUFA modulate sympathetic activity. Supplementation of the diet with DHA or fish oil for 3 months prevented young students from developing aggression against others at times of mental stress (preparation of final exams [49] and in another similar study in students submitted to the mental stress of preparing final exams decreased plasma norepinephrine concentrations) [50]. Recently, in collaboration with L. Tappy in Lausanne we observed blunting of activation of sympathetic activity during mental stress after 3 weeks of fish oil supplementation in healthy adults [51].…”

Is there a role forn-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the regulation of mood and behaviour? A review of the evidence to date from epidemiological studies, clinical studies and intervention trials

“…Of the twelve studies reported, two studies found decreases in aggression following supplementation with E-EPA (124) , or EPA þ DHA compared with placebo (155) , one study found decreases in anger following supplementation with EPA þ DHA þ other n-3PUFA compared with placebo (118) , one study found decreases in tension following supplementation with EPA þ DHA þ other n-3PUFA compared with placebo (159) , and one study found decreases in anti-social behaviour following supplementation with EPA þ DHA þ n-6PUFA þ vitamins þ minerals compared with placebo (160) . Two further studies also found improvements in aggression following supplementation compared with placebo, where aggression increased in the placebo group but remained stable in the group treated with EPA þ DHA (153,156) . Four of the studies report no differences in aggression/irritability between treatment and placebo groups following supplementation (126,155,157,158) , one study reports no differences in hostility between treatment and placebo groups (154) and one study reports no differences in anger between treatment and placebo groups (119) .…”

Dietary intake of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and fish: Relationship with hostility in young adults—the CARDIA study

“…In a trial among young adults in Japan, DHA supplementation with fish oil capsules prevented extra-aggression at times of mental stress (Hamazaki et al, 1996) and lowered resting plasma norepinephrine concentrations by 31% (Hamazaki et al, 2000). In another trial, a high fish diet intervention as part of a cholesterollowering program resulted in a reduction of aggressive hostility as measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) (Weidner et al, 1992).…”