Consuming fish could lower your risk of depression

RESEARCHERS from the Medical College of Qingdao University in Shandong China concluded that fish eaters have a 17% lower risk of depression than their non-fish eating counterparts.

The study, which was published September 10 in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is a review of the results of 26 other studies conducted between 2001 and 2014.

Each study analyzes the link between fish consumption and medically diagnosed depression, the consumption of antidepressants or criteria that correspond to depressive disorders that are measured using a specific scale.

Of the sample size of 150,278 participants, the researchers found that those who had consumed fish had a 17% lower risk of depression than those who did not: -20% for men and -16% for woman.

The researchers have not yet established the particular biological mechanisms that link fish consumption with a lower risk of depression.

They note however that omega 3 fatty acids present in fish and seafood likely play an important role as they affect serotonin and dopamine activity.

These neurotransmitters (molecules that transmit information from one neuron to the next) are implicated in regulating mood and general well-being.

The study does not precise how much fish should be consumed each week or month to reap the food's benefits nor how it should be prepared.

The study's findings are not altogether new. Other scientific investigations in the past have analyzed the relationship between fish consumption and overall health.

In particular, a study published by The Lancet in 1998 found that depression was less frequent in countries whose inhabitants ate a lot of fish like Japan, Korea and Taiwan as opposed to countries like Germany and New Zealand for instance.

Meanwhile the Canadian OMEGA-3D study is one of the most important scientific studies ever conducted on the effectiveness of omega 3 in treating depression.

Published in June of 2010 in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the study found that 55% of the depressed subjects noticed a significant improvement of their symptoms thanks to omega 3.

Fatty fish like swordfish, mackerel, sardine, salmon and red tuna contain the highest amount of omega 3.