Effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on cognitive functioning in youth at ultra-high risk for psychosis: secondary analysis of the NEURAPRO randomised controlled trial

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Documents

  • Fulltext

    Final published version, 455 KB, PDF document

  • Nicholas Cheng
  • Alison Mclaverty
  • Barnaby Nelson
  • Connie Markulev
  • Miriam R. Schäfer
  • Maximus Berger
  • Nilufar Mossaheb
  • Monika Schlögelhofer
  • Stefan Smesny
  • Ian B. Hickie
  • Gregor E. Berger
  • Eric Y.H. Chen
  • Lieuwe De Haan
  • Dorien H. Nieman
  • Anita Riecher-Rössler
  • Swapna Verma
  • Rebekah Street
  • Andrew Thompson
  • Hok Pan Yuen
  • Robert Hester
  • Alison Ruth Yung
  • Patrick D. Mcgorry
  • Kelly Allott
  • G. Paul Amminger

Background Cognitive impairments are well-established features of psychotic disorders and are present when individuals are at ultra-high risk for psychosis. However, few interventions target cognitive functioning in this population. Aims To investigate whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation improves cognitive functioning among individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Method Data (N = 225) from an international, multi-site, randomised controlled trial (NEURAPRO) were analysed. Participants were given omega-3 supplementation (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo over 6 months. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Mixed two-way analyses of variance were computed to compare the change in cognitive performance between omega-3 supplementation and placebo over 6 months. An additional biomarker analysis explored whether change in erythrocyte n-3 PUFA levels predicted change in cognitive performance. Results The placebo group showed a modest greater improvement over time than the omega-3 supplementation group for motor speed (ηp2 = 0.09) and BACS composite score (ηp2 = 0.21). After repeating the analyses without individuals who transitioned, motor speed was no longer significant (ηp2 = 0.02), but the composite score remained significant (ηp2 = 0.02). Change in erythrocyte n-3 PUFA levels did not predict change in cognitive performance over 6 months. Conclusions We found no evidence to support the use of omega-3 supplementation to improve cognitive functioning in ultra-high risk individuals. The biomarker analysis suggests that this finding is unlikely to be attributed to poor adherence or consumption of non-trial n-3 PUFAs.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere165
JournalBJPsych Open
Volume8
Issue number5
ISSN2056-4724
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

    Research areas

  • clinical high risk, Cognition, early intervention, psychotic disorders, randomised controlled trial

ID: 323998940