Table 4.
Longitudinal variation of EPDS score during pregnancy and postpartum between fish oil (EPA and DHA) and control groups
| EPDS score | Absolute change in EPDS score | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 | T1 | T2 | T3 | Δ (T3 – T1) | Δ (T3 – T0) | |
| Overall sample | ||||||
| Intention-to-treat | ||||||
| Control (n = 28) | 10.5 (9.5–13.5) | 8.5 (6.0–10.5) | 7.0 (5.5–11.0) | 6.0 (5.0–11.0) | −1.0 (−3.5–1.5) | −4.0 (−8.0–0.0) |
| Fish oil (n = 32) | 10.0 (9.0–13.0) | 9.0 (5.5–13.0) | 6.5 (4.0–12.0) | 6.5 (3.5–10.5) | −1.0 (−4.0–0.0) | −4.0 (−6.5–0.0) |
| p-value1 | 0.612 | 0.721 | 0.607 | 0.612 | 0.512 | 0.748 |
| Per protocol | ||||||
| Control (n = 17) | 11.0 (9.0–15.0) | 8.0 (6.0–10.0) | 7.0 (5.0–11.0) | 6.0 (5.0–7.0) | −1.0 (−4.0–1.0) | −5.0 (−8.0 – −3.0) |
| Fish oil (n = 15) | 11.0 (10.0–14.0) | 11.0 (5.0–14.0) | 10.0 (4.0–15.0) | 8.0 (5.0–12.0) | −1.0 (−5.0–1.0) | −4.0 (−8.0–0.0) |
| p-value1 | 0.675 | 0.178 | 0.635 | 0.216 | 0.955 | 0.404 |
| Women with previous history of depression | ||||||
| Intention-to-treat | ||||||
| Control (n = 17) | 11.0 (10.0–15.0) | 9.0 (5.0–12.0) | 7.5 (5.5–11.0) | 7.0 (5.0–14.0) | 0.0 (−1.0–3.0) | −3 .0 (−8.0–0.0) |
| Fish oil (n = 16) | 10.0 (7.0–12.5) | 8.5 (5.5–13.5) | 9.0 (5.0–15.0) | 7.0 (3.0–11.0) | −1.0 (−3.0–0.0) | −1.0 (−6.0–0.0) |
| p-value1 | 0.318 | 0.527 | 0.709 | 0.322 | 0.038 | 0.201 |
| Per protocol | ||||||
| Control (n = 10) | 11.0 (8.0–15.0) | 7.5 (5.0–12.0) | 7.5 (5.0–11.0) | 6.5 (5.0–12.0) | −0.5 (−2.0–2.0) | −4.5 (−8.0–0.0) |
| Fish oil (n = 8) | 10.5 (10.0–15.0) | 13.0 (6.0–14.5) | 12.5 (5.0–15.5) | 8.5 (6.5–12.0) | −1.5 (−4.0–0.5) | −4.5 (−7.0–1.0) |
| p-value1 | 0.893 | 0.117 | 0.303 | 0.421 | 0.264 | 0.561 |
Evaluation was conducted at: T0 = 5–13 gestational weeks (cohort baseline); T1 = 22–24 gestational weeks (randomized clinical trial baseline); T2 = 30–32 gestational weeks; T3 = 4–6 weeks’ postpartum.
Data are presented as median (interquartile range), 1p–value refers to Mann Whitney U test.
EPDS Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, EPA Eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA Docosahexaenoic acid.