Essential Fatty Acids for Childhood Mental Health Disorders

Opinion statement No child psychiatric disorder has a single treatment that is completely satisfactory. Combinations are sometimes more beneficial than single treatments. This is well established for medication + behavioral treatment for depression and ADHD. There is wide variability in the evidence base for various treatments, from FDA-approved RCTs to open pilots. In the search for additional or alternative treatments, essential fatty acids seem especially to pass the SECS criterion: a treatment that is safe, easy, cheap, and sensible does not need as much evidence to justify patient trials as one that is risky, unrealistic, difficult, or expensive (RUDE). Not only do omega-3 fatty acids have some RCT evidence for a small effect in several psychiatric disorders, but they also are believed useful in preventing cardiac morbidity and excessive inflammation. Therefore, for ADHD, we recommend a combination of behavioral treatment (e.g., parent training, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for older patients), FDA-approved medication, (primarily stimulants), an RDI/RDA multivitamin/mineral to compensate for stimulant appetite suppression, and about a gram a day of EPA/DHA, possibly supplemented with 50–100 mg GLA. For mood disorders, we recommend a combination of mood stabilizer or antidepressant (depending on which mood disorder), CBT, RDA/RDI multivitamin/mineral (in view of reported vitamin D deficiencies and vitamin ...
Source: Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research