Red Blood Cell Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition and Psychotropic Drug Use in Older Adults: Results from the MAPT Study.

Low docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentration has been associated with the development of some psychiatric disorders. to assess the association between red blood cell (RBC) DHA-EPA concentration and psychotropic drug use in older adults and between the 1-year change in RBC DHA-EPA and psychotropic drug use at 12 months. secondary analysis of multicenter, randomized controlled trial testing multidomain intervention and/or n-3 PUFA supplement on cognitive function (MAPT study). France, 2008-2014. 1680 participants ≥70 years, community-dwelling were included. Psychotropic drug use was self-reported during medical interviews and assessments. RBC n-3 PUFA concentration was defined by % of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) among total fatty acids. Logistic regressions models controlling for age, sex, education, depression risk and intervention group were used. 1594 participants had baseline DHA-EPA concentration available (mean age=75.5±4.5 years, 65% females). At baseline, participants with DHA-EPA ≤4.82% (lowest quartile) reported higher prevalence of use of overall psychotropic drugs (34.0% vs 24.4%; aOR=1.33, 95%CI=[1.03-1.72]), anxiolytic/hypnotic drugs (25.0% vs 18.2%; aOR=1.42, 95%CI=[1.07-1.89]), and antidepressants (18.3% vs 13.5%; aOR=1.25, 95%CI=[0.93-1.72]) than participants with higher DHA-EPA. Participants who experienced an increase in DHA-EPA from baseline were less likely to use a psychotropic drug at 12 months than participants with no change or a decrease (aOR=0.72, 95%CI=[0.55-0.96]). Low RBC DHA-EPA concentration was independently associated with psychotropic drug use. Future studies are needed to assess whether low RBC DHA-EPA is a risk marker for psychotropic drug use in older adults and to better understand underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov database (NCT00672685).

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The MAPT study was supported by grants from the French Ministry of Health (PHRC 2008, 2009), Pierre Fabre Research Institute (manufacturer of the omega-3 supplement), Exhonit Therapeutics SA, and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc.