title: Baseline omega-3 index correlates with aggressive and attention deficit disorder behaviours in adult prisoners.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is emerging evidence that the supplementation of omega-3 contributes to a decrease in aggressive behaviour in prison populations. A challenge of such research is achieving statistical power against effect sizes which may be affected by the baseline omega-3 index. There are no published data on the blood omega-3 index with studies of this kind to assess the variability of the blood omega-3 index in conjunction with aggression and attention deficit assessments.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine if the variance of the omega-3 index is correlated with aggressive and attention deficit behaviour in a prison population.
  
  
  METHODS
  136 adult male prisoners were recruited from South Coast Correctional Centre (SCCC), NSW Australia. A 7 point categorisation was used to quantify levels of aggressive behaviour (4 weeks) from individual SCCC case notes, whereby higher scores correspond to increasingly aggressive behaviour. Study participants completed the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) and the Brown's Attention Deficit Disorder Scales (BADDS), provided a blood sample for erythrocyte fatty acid analysis using gas chromatography and the omega-3 index was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The baseline omega-3 index ranged from 2.3% to 10.3%, indicating that some participants already had substantial omega-3 intake, however a median of 4.7% indicated a lower overall omega-3 intake than the general Australian population. Assessment of aggressive and attention deficit behaviour shows that there were negative correlations between baseline omega-3 index and baseline aggression categorisation scores (r = -0.21, P = 0.016); total AQ score (r = -0.234, P = 0.011); Anger (r = -0.222 p = 0.016); Hostility AQ (r = -0.239, P = 0.009); indirect aggression (r = -0.188 p = 0.042); total BADDS (r = -0.263, p = 0.005); Activation (r = -0.224, p = 0.016); Attention (r = -0.192, p = 0.043); Effort (r = -0.253, p = 0.007); Affect (r = -0.330, p = 0.000) and Memory (r = -0.240, p = 0.010).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a high variability in omega-3 status of a NSW prison population, and inmates with lower omega-3 index were more aggressive and had higher ADD scores.
authors: School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; Illawarra Heath and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Barbara J
authors: BJ
authors: Meyer
authors: Illawarra Heath and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Mitchell K
authors: MK
authors: Byrne
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Carole
authors: C
authors: Collier
authors: School of Population Health, Sansom Institute for Health Research, Adelaide, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Natalie
authors: N
authors: Parletta
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Donna
authors: D
authors: Crawford
authors: Venus Shell Systems and Shoalhaven Marine & Freshwater Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Pia C
authors: PC
authors: Winberg
authors: School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Webster
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Chapman
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Gayle
authors: G
authors: Thomas
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Jean
authors: J
authors: Dally
authors: Statistical Consulting Service, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
authors: Marijka
authors: M
authors: Batterham
authors: South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Farquhar
authors: Corrective Services New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Anne-Marie
authors: AM
authors: Martin
authors: Corrective Services New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Luke
authors: L
authors: Grant
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001315:Australia; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3