Serum docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is inversely associated with anxiety disorders in early pregnancy

• We evaluated the association between PUFAs and anxiety disorders in early pregnancy.
• We observed a high prevalence of at least one anxiety disorder (25%).
• Agoraphobia (18%) and generalized anxiety (10.5%) were the most common disorders.
• DHA concentrations were inversely related to the occurrence of anxiety disorders.
• Serum DHA <48.3 μg/mL was associated with 95% higher chance of anxiety disorders.

Little is known about the association between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and anxiety disorders during pregnancy. We evaluated this association at the first pregnancy trimester in 228 women. The study endpoint was the diagnosis of any anxiety disorder assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The independent variables were the serum concentrations of total n-3 and fractions (18:2, 20:5, 22:5, 22:6), total n-6 and fractions (18:2, 18:3, 20:2, 20:3, 20:4, 22:4, 22:5) and the n-6/n-3 ratio PUFAs. The prevalence of any anxiety disorders was 25%. The first tertile of the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) distribution represented 1.95 (95% CI: 1.00–3.77) higher chance of having an anxiety disorder diagnosis, compared to those in the second and third tertiles after adjusting the analyses for parity, family income, early pregnancy BMI and gestational age at the blood sampling. Serum concentrations of DHA were inversely associated with the occurrence of early pregnancy anxiety disorders.