Summary: A new study found that supplementing with omega-3 can reduce aggression by 30%. The study looked at 29 randomized controlled trials, showing short-term benefits in various demographics. Researchers advocate the use of omega-3 supplements as a complementary treatment for aggressive behavior.
Highlights:
- Reduction of aggression: Omega-3 supplementation can reduce aggression by 30%.
- Scope of the study: The meta-analysis included 29 trials with 3,918 participants.
- Wider benefits: Omega-3s are also beneficial for heart health and are safe to use.
Source: University of Pennsylvania
People who regularly eat fish or take fish oil supplements consume omega-3 fatty acids, which play an essential role in brain function. Research has long shown that aggressive and violent behaviors cause aggressive and violent behavior, and that poor diet is a risk factor for behavioral problems.
Adrian Raine, a Penn neurocriminologist, has been studying for years whether omega-3 supplementation could therefore reduce aggressive behavior, publishing five randomized controlled trials conducted in different countries.
He saw significant effects but wanted to know if these results extended beyond his laboratory.
Now, Raine has found additional evidence for the effectiveness of omega-3 supplementation by conducting a meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials. It shows modest short-term effects – he estimates that this intervention results in a 30% reduction in aggression – depending on age, sex, diagnosis, duration of treatment and dosage.
Raine is the lead author of a new article published in the journal Aggressive and violent behavior, with Lia Brodrick of the Perelman School of Medicine.
“I think now is the time to implement omega-3 supplementation to reduce aggression, whether in the community, in a clinic, or in the criminal justice system,” says Raine.
“Omega-3s are not a miracle solution that will completely solve the problem of violence in society. But can it help? Based on these results, we strongly believe that it is possible and that we should start taking action based on the new knowledge we have.
He notes that omega-3s also have benefits in treating heart disease and hypertension, and are inexpensive and safe to use.
“At the very least, parents seeking treatment for an aggressive child should know that in addition to any other treatment their child is receiving, an extra serving or two of fish each week might also help,” says Raine.
This meta-analysis shows that omega-3s reduce both reactive aggression, which is behavior in response to a provocation, and proactive aggression, which is planned.
The study included 35 independent samples from 29 studies conducted in 19 independent laboratories from 1996 to 2024 with 3,918 participants. It revealed statistically significant effects, whether averaged effect sizes per study, per independent sample, or per laboratory.
Only one of the 19 laboratories followed up on participation after the supplementation ended. The analysis therefore focused on changes in aggression from the beginning to the end of treatment for the experimental and control groups, a period averaging 16 weeks.
“While it is useful to know whether omega-3s reduce aggression in the short term,” the paper states, “the next step will be to assess whether omega-3s can reduce aggression in the long term.”
The article notes several other possible avenues for future research, such as determining whether brain imaging shows that omega-3 supplementation improves prefrontal functioning, whether genetic variation impacts omega-3 treatment outcomes and whether self-reported measures of aggression provide stronger evidence. for effectiveness as observer reports.
“At the very least, we would say that omega-3 supplementation should be considered as a complement to other interventions, whether psychological (e.g. CBT) or pharmacological (e.g. risperidone), and that caregivers are informed of the potential benefits. of omega-3 supplementation,” the authors write.
They conclude: “We believe the time has come both to put omega-3 supplementation into practice and to continue to scientifically study its long-term effectiveness. »
Adrian Raine is the Richard Perry Professor of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology and a professor at Penn Integrates Knowledge with joint appointments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine.
Lia Brodrick was Raine’s teaching assistant as an undergraduate at Penn and is now a clinical research coordinator at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Funding: This research was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD087485).
About this aggression and news of Omega 3 research
Author: Erica Moser
Source: University of Pennsylvania
Contact: Erica Moser – University of Pennsylvania
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Free access.
“Omega-3 supplementation reduces aggressive behavior: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials” by Adrian Raine et al. Aggression and violent behavior
Abstract
Omega-3 supplementation reduces aggressive behavior: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials
There is growing interest in the use of omega-3 supplements to reduce aggressive behavior.
This meta-analysis summarizes the results of 29 RCTs (randomized controlled trials) of omega-3 supplementation to reduce aggression, resulting in 35 independent samples with a total of 3,918 participants.
Three analyzes were performed in which the unit of analysis was independent samples, independent studies, and independent laboratories. Significant effect sizes were observed for all three analyzes (g = 0.16, 0.20, 0.28 respectively), with a mean of 0.22, in the direction of omega-3 supplementation reducing aggression.
There was no evidence of publication bias and sensitivity analyzes confirmed the results. Moderator analyzes were largely nonsignificant, indicating that beneficial effects are obtained as a function of age, gender, recruitment sample, diagnoses, treatment duration, and dosage.
Omega-3s also reduced reactive and proactive forms of aggression, particularly with regard to self-evaluations (g = 0.27 and 0.20 respectively).
We conclude that there is now sufficient evidence to begin implementing omega-3 supplementation to reduce aggression in children and adults – regardless of whether it is in the community, clinical or criminal justice system.