P997 - EFFECTIVENESS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR EATING DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

P997

EFFECTIVENESS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR EATING DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Y. Y. Kristian^1,2,*, F. N. E. Pratiwy^2,3, Y. Wulandari^1,4, D. Sunardi^1,4

¹Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, ²University College London, London, United Kingdom, ³Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gajah Mada, Yogyakarta, ⁴Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia

Rationale: Omega-3 fatty acid (n-3) deficiency is often observed in patients with eating disorders (EDs). However, there were no guidelines for supplementing n-3 in this group. This systematic review aims to assess the effect of supplementing omega-3 fatty acids on improving ED outcomes.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in Embase, Medline, Global Health, Pubmed, and APA PsycInfo from inception until January 2025. This review focused on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining physical and psychological outcomes in patients with EDs supplemented with n-3. The reviewers independently screened the articles, extracted data, and assessed study quality using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB 2) tool. This review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD420251000049).

Results: Out of 480 screened articles, four RCTs involving 133 participants with EDs, primarily adolescent females, were included in the analysis. Most of these studies (75%) exhibited a moderate risk of bias. N-3 oral supplements with doses ranging from 600-2720mg were compared to placebos. Psychiatric outcomes were largely nonsignificant, albeit one trial reported reduced anxiety at a higher dose for 6 to 12 weeks (Beck Anxiety Inventory-Trait/BAIT, Cohen’s d=1.11, p=0.01 and Cohen’s d=0.99, p=0.04, respectively). No significant improvements in physical measures (weight gain and BMI) were found across studies.

Conclusion: In this systematic review, we found that a higher dose of n-3 may improve anxiety in patients with EDs. However, this finding should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited availability of high-quality evidence. Further research is necessary to provide more evidence regarding the effects of n-3 supplementation on EDs.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared