Altered omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status in depressed post-myocardial infarction patients Schins A, Crijns HJ, Brummer R-J M, Wichers M, Lousberg R, Celis S, Honig A. Altered omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status in depressed post-myocardial infarction patients. Objective: Lower levels of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) and increased inflammation have been associated with both depressive disorder and myocardial infarction (MI). The present study investigated whether patients who develop depression post-MI, have higher arachidonic acid/eicosapentanoic acid (AA/EPA) ratios than non-depressed post-MI patients and whether depressed post-MI patients have signs of increased inflammation as measured by C-reactive protein (CRP). Method: Serum AA/EPA ratio and plasma CRP levels were quantified in 50 post-MI patients, of which 29 were depressed and 21 non- depressed. Results: Compared with the non-depressed group, depressed post-MI patients had significantly higher AA/EPA ratios. No significant difference was observed in CRP levels. Conclusion: Depressed post-MI patients had lower levels of n-3 LCPUFAs as measured by mean AA/EPA ratio and no signs of increased inflammation as determined by CRP levels. A. Schins 1 , H. J. Crijns 2 , R.-J. M. Brummer 3 , M. Wichers 1 , R. Lousberg 1 , S. Celis 4 , A. Honig 5 Departments of 1 Psychiatry, 2 Cardiology, 3 Internal Medicine and Dietetics, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 4 Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Antwerp, Belgium and 5 Department of Psychiatry, St. Lucas Andreas Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Key words: fatty acids; eicosapentanoic acids; docosahexanoic acids; depression; myocardial infarction; C-reactive protein Adriaan Honig, Department of Psychiatry, St. Lucas Andreas Hospital, PO Box 9243, 1006 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: A.Honig@slaz.nl Accepted for publication April 6, 2006 Significant outcomes • In the present study, depression post-myocardial infarction (MI) was associated with lower serum levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. • Depression post-MI was not associated with signs of increased inflammation. • It is important to understand more about a possible link between depression after MI, and levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids because depression in MI patients is associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. Limitations • The absence of increased inflammation may be caused by cardiac medications which influence inflammatory status. • The study did not adjust for dietary intake and alcohol consumption. Introduction Myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with a prevalence of depression of about 30%. Depression after MI is associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality (1–3). The relationship between MI, depression and cardiac morbidity has not yet been fully clarified. There is evidence that altered composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be one of the mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and coronary artery disease (CAD). With regard to Acta Psychiatr Scand 2007: 115: 35–40 All rights reserved DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00830.x Copyright Ó 2006 The Authors Journal Compilation Ó 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA 35