Table 3.

Assessment of dietary fatty acid intake and prevalence of depressive symptoms.

Authors	Year of Publication	Type of Study	The Group	Assessment of Depression and Dietary Intake	Results and Conclusions
Sánchez-Villegas et al. [70]	2018	Cross-sectional study	n = 6874 adults	Beck Depression Inventory-II and 143-item Semi-quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire	Total omega-3 fatty acid intake (approximately 0.5–1 g/day) was significantly associated with a lower incidence of depression.
Park et al. [71]	2020	Cohort study	n = 2200 adult women	Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) assessment questionnaires, and n-3 FA intakes were assessed using a Semi-quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire	A higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with increased connectivity within the neural networks associated with emotion and attention, and increased connectivity between the regions of the brain associated with emotion control and cognitive processes. Omega-3 fatty acid intake may have an effect on brain function and possibly a role in the reduction of depressive symptoms in middle-aged women.
Zhang et al. [72]	2020	Cross-sectional study	n = 17,431 adults	PHQ-9 (nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire) and two 24 h dietary recall interviews	A higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms, while a higher intake of omega-6 fatty acids was associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms. A higher omega-6:omega-3 ratio was also associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms.
Li et al. [73]	2020	Cross-sectional study	n = 3054 adult women	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)	A higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower risk of depression in early perimenopausal women.
Berger et al. [74]	2020	Cross-sectional study	n = 206 adults	Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and diet with a structured questionnaire	Higher intakes of seafood and omega-3 fatty acids were associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms. A protective factor against depression may be the availability of fresh seafood in the local diet.
Chaves et al. [75]	2022	Longitudinal study	n = 13,879 adults	The Clinical Interview Schedule Revised (CIS-R) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)	The protective effect of omega-3s (total and subtypes) has been shown, with reductions of 2–65% in the risk of major depressive disorder. Consumption of all types of omega-3 fatty acids was lower among those with persistent depressive episodes.