summary: A new study finds that taking omega-3 supplements reduces aggression by 30%. The study looked at 29 randomized controlled trials and showed short-term benefits across a range of demographics. Researchers recommend the use of omega-3 supplements as a complementary treatment for aggressive behavior.
Key Facts:
- Reduced aggressionOmega-3 supplements reduce aggression by 30%.
- Research Scope: The meta-analysis included 29 studies involving 3,918 participants.
- Wider benefitsOmega-3s are also beneficial for heart health and are safe to use.
sauce: University of Pennsylvania
People who eat fish regularly or take fish oil supplements are getting omega-3 fatty acids, which play a key role in brain function. Research over the years has shown that the brain is the basis for aggressive and violent behavior, and that nutritional deficiencies are a risk factor for behavioral disorders.
Adrian Raine, a neurocriminologist at the University of Pennsylvania, has been studying for years whether omega-3 supplements can reduce aggressive behavior and has published five randomized controlled trials conducted in different countries.
He found significant effects, but wanted to know whether these findings extended beyond his lab.
Now, Lane has conducted a meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials and found further evidence of the effectiveness of omega-3 supplements. The meta-analysis showed modest short-term benefits across age, sex, diagnosis, length of treatment and dose, with Lane estimating that the intervention reduces aggression by 30%.
Lane is lead author of the new paper published in the journal. Aggressive and violent behavior, With Leah Brodrick of the Perelman School of Medicine.
“I think it’s time to start using omega-3 supplements to reduce aggression, whether in the community, in clinics or in the criminal justice system,” Lane said.
“Omega-3 is not a magic pill that will completely solve society’s violence problems. But can it help? Based on these findings, we are confident that it can, and we need to start acting on the new knowledge we have.”
He points out that omega-3s are also effective in treating heart disease and high blood pressure, and are cheap and safe to use.
“At the very least, parents seeking treatment for their aggressive children should know that giving them an extra serving or two of fish each week can be effective, in addition to any other treatment their child receives,” Lane says.
This meta-analysis showed that omega-3s reduced both reactive aggression, which is behavior that occurs in response to provocation, and proactive aggression, which is planned behavior.
The study included 35 independent samples from 29 studies conducted in 19 independent laboratories with 3,918 participants between 1996 and 2024. Statistically significant effects were found when effect sizes were averaged by study, independent sample, or laboratory.
Of the 19 laboratories, only one followed up with participants after they had stopped taking the supplements, so the analysis focused on changes in aggression over an average of 16 weeks, from the start to the end of treatment in the experimental and control groups.
“While it would be valuable to know whether omega-3s reduce aggression in the short term, the next step is to assess whether omega-3s can reduce aggression in the long term,” the paper said.
The paper notes several possible directions for future research, including whether brain imaging tests can show that omega-3 supplements enhance frontal lobe function, whether genetic variants influence the outcome of omega-3 treatment, and whether self-reported measures of aggression provide stronger evidence of validity than observer reports.
“At the very least, we argue that omega-3 supplementation should be considered as an adjunct to other interventions, whether psychological (e.g., CBT) or pharmacological (e.g., risperidone), and that caregivers should be informed about the potential benefits of omega-3 supplementation,” the authors write.
They conclude that “we believe the time has come to support practical use of omega-3 supplements and to continue to scientifically investigate their long-term efficacy.”
Adrian Lane is the Richard Perry Professor of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology and a professor in the School of Integrated Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine.
Leah Brodrick was Lane’s teaching assistant as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania and is now a clinical research coordinator at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Funding: This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD087485).
About this aggression and omega-3 research news
author: Erica Moser
sauce: University of Pennsylvania
contact: Erica Moser – University of Pennsylvania
image: Image courtesy of Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Omega-3 supplements reduce aggressive behavior: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trialsAdrian Raine et al. Aggression and violence
Abstract
Omega-3 supplements reduce aggressive behavior: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials
There is growing interest in using omega-3 supplements to reduce aggressive behavior.
This meta-analysis summarized the results of 29 RCTs (randomized controlled trials) of omega-3 supplements to reduce aggression, resulting in 35 independent samples with a total of 3918 participants.
Three analyses were conducted with independent samples, independent studies, and independent laboratories as the units of analysis.In all three analyses, significant effect sizes (g = 0.16, 0.20, and 0.28, respectively) were observed in the direction of omega-3 supplements reducing aggression, with a mean of 0.22.
There was no evidence of publication bias and sensitivity analyses confirmed the results. Moderator analyses were largely non-significant, indicating that beneficial effects were observed across age, sex, recruited sample, diagnosis, treatment duration and dose.
Omega-3 also reduced both reactive and proactive aggression, particularly in terms of self-reports (g = 0.27 and 0.20, respectively).
The bottom line is that there is now enough evidence to start using omega-3 supplements to reduce aggression in children and adults, whether in the community, clinic, or criminal justice system.
