Letter - Possible deleterious effects of adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids in post-traumatic stress disoder patients

Kaplan Zeev, Matar Michael, Kamin Ram, Cohen Hagit

Ministry of Health Mental Health Center, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Since anger and hostility are frequently pivotal problem behaviors in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients and depression is a common comorbid feature of PTSD, we initiated a preliminary open trial of dietary supplementation with capsules of fish oil rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in a group of PTSD patients with these problems. Our purpose in the present study was to examine whether EPA-rich fish oil has any effect on the symptoms of PTSD patients, especially those related to depression, anger, and hostility.