Generation game: Effects of omega-3 deficiency may worsen over consecutive generations
The negative effects on mood, behaviour and cognition of omega-3 deficient diets can worsen through consecutive generations, a new animal study shows. Higher anxiety and hyperactivity were seen in 'second generation' adolescents, along with poorer memory and cognition, adding to existing evidence that the lack of these key brain nutrients in modern diets is a factor in rising rates of mental ill-health. (But importantly, it is one that can be modified).
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Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for healthy brain development and function, and yet omega-3 deficient diets have become the norm for most adults and children in recent decades. Mounting evidence implicates a lack of these key brain nutrients as a potential contributory factor in both childhood behaviour and learning difficulties such as ADHD, and mental health problems including anxiety and depression.
Pregnancy and early life are particularly critical periods of brain development, when maternal nutritional deficiencies during can lead to lifelong (i.e. irreversible) effects on the health and wellbeing of the offspring.
Here, researchers used an animal model, exposing both adult and adolescent rats to omega-3 deficient diets, and studying both the first and second generations to examine 'nutritional programming' effects of omega-3 deficiencies on mood, behaviour and cognition.
They found that omega-3 deficiency increased the risk of anxiety, hyperactivity and cognitive problems in both the parents and their offspring - but that these impairments were greatest in the second-generation during their adolescence (another critical period of brain development).
The findings showed that the negative effects of omega-3 deficiency on mood, behaviour and cognition were magnifed in successive generations, with adolescents showing particular vulnerability if both they and their parents were raised on diets lacking omega-3 fatty acids.
Changes in dopamine availability in specific brain regions in these 'second-generation' adolescents were also identified, which could plausibly help to account for the effects seen on their mood, behaviour and cognition.
For details of this research, see:
Obviously, rigourously controlled studies like this one cannot be carried out in humans for ethical and practical reasons, but nutritional programming effects in humans have been demonstrated, and they operate via similar principles to those documented in animals.
As the researchers point out, dietary omega-3 deficiencies became widespread in the US, UK and other developed countries from the 1960s onwards, owing to the increased consumption of diets high in ultra-processed foods (rich in omega-6 from seed oils), and reduced intakes of fish and seafood (the main dietary source of the long-chain omega-3 essential for brain health).
These findings therefore add further weight to the existing evidence that these omega-3 deficiences may be contributing to the increased rates of behavioural, cognitive and mental health problems seen in successive generations since then.
The 'causes' of developmental and psychiatric conditions are always complex and multifactorial - involving the interaction of biological, psychological and social influences that inevitably differ between individuals. However, nutrition and diet operate at each of those levels - and very importantly, they are also more easily modified than many other known contributory factors.
Other animal studies have already pinpointed mechanisms by which omega-3 deficiency in pregnancy can permanently alter brain development in ways that increase the risks for anxiety and other mood, behaviour and cognitive problems in the offspring. See:
See also:
30 Jul 2013 - Nutraingredients
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The negative effects of poor omega-3 intake could become incrementally worse through consecutive generations, accordig to a new study.
The team of US researchers used rats to model how second-generation deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids affected long-term health, mood and cognitive functions - and found that deficiencies in these essential fatty acids over consecutive generations can lead to cognitive and behavioural problems.
Writing in Biological Psychiatry, the team revealed that a lack of omega-3 led to elevated states of anxiety and hyperactivity in second generation adolescents and affected their memory and cognition.
"We found that this dietary deficiency can compromise the behavioural health of adolescents, not only because their diet is deficient, but because their parents' diet was deficient as well" said Professor Bita Moghaddam of the University of Pittsburgh - lead author of the paper.
"This is of particular concern because adolescence is a very vulnerable time for developing psychiatric disorders invluding schizophrenia and addiction"
"We observed changes in areas of the brain responsible for decision making and habit formation."
Study details
Moghaddam and her research team examined the effects of a "second generation" of omega-3-deficient diets - which mimics the situation of many present-day adolescents.
"This model therefore makes a strong case for the nutritional contribution to dopamine-related cognitive and affective functioning and vulnerability to psychiatric illness in adolescents."
Overall, these adolescents were more anxious and hyperactive, learned at a slower rate, and had impaired problem-solving abilities, the team revealed.
"It's remarkable that a relatively common dietary change can have generational effects," said Moghaddam. "It indicates that our diet does not merely affect us in the short-term but also can affect our offspring."
"In addition to compromising optimal behavioural health, this common dietary deficiency might be a critical environmental factor that contributes to illness progression in individuals at risk for developing major psychiatric disorders, including mood disorders or schizophrenia."
Source: "Adolescent Behavior and Dopamine Availability Are Uniquely Sensitive to Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Deficiency"
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