New Study Suggest Fish Oil Can Prevent Psychosis

A study by Paul Amminger and Patrick McGorry of Australia’s University of Melbourne and Monika Schlogelhofer of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, conducted a study which suggests that fish oil may reduce the risk of psychosis. NAMI defines psychosis as the experience of loss of contact with reality, and is not part of the person’s cultural group belief system or experience. Psychosis typically involves one of two major experiences, hallucinations and delusions.

The study consisted of 81 people ranging from 13 to 25-years-old and all participants were very high risk for psychosis. Many of their patients were already experiencing delusions, hallucinations, and increased suspicions or had a close relative with a psychotic disorder.

During the study, half of the participants were given fish oil capsules for 12 weeks, while the other half took a placebo. The study followed the 81 participants for 7 years. During that time, only 10% of the fish oil group experienced psychosis, as opposed to 40% of the placebo group.

While this experiment shows some exciting and positive results, two more groups of researchers including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will be running their own trials to be sure that the original study was not a coincidence.

Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York says, “Doctors hope to prevent young people from developing full-blown psychosis – or to help them recover quickly after a first psychotic break – because of encouraging research that suggests early intervention can halt the deterioration so often seen in schizophrenia.”

Whether fish oil supplements truly do prevent or lessen psychosis, it’s omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to a variety of healthy benefits including lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease, reduce inflammation, lower triglycerides, and it may even can slow the build-up of atherosclerotic plaques.

Now that’s a miracle pill!

Resources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/16/fish-oil-psychosis/19031251/
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=First_Episode
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/fish-oil-and-your-health.aspx

About Jill Sauser, The Kim Foundation Project Coordinator

Jill graduated with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Speech Communication from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2009. During her time at UNO, she completed a two year PR practicum program where she worked with numerous nonprofit clients including the MS Society, The Archdiocese of Omaha, The Omaha Food Bank and YWCA. Jill joined The Kim Foundation as Project Coordinator in April 2014