Psychological stress reverses antiaggregatory effects of dietary fish oil

Effect of acute psychological stress on the inhibition of in vitro platelet aggregation by dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids was studied in 20 adult males. Subjects were randomly divided into groups receiving either olive oil or fish oil (2.4 g long-chain n-3 fatty acids/day) for 4 weeks. In vitro aggregation responses to two doses of ADP collagen, and epinephrine were measured immediately prior to and following exposure to three psychological stressors (2 min each), before and after the supplementation period. Olive oil had no effect on baseline aggregatory responses, while fish oil reduced aggregatory responses to ADP and epinephrine. Exposure to the stressors had no effect upon presupplementation aggregation in either group or in the olive oil group postsupplementation. However, stress abolished antiaggregatory effects of fish oil. This reversal of the antiaggregatory effects of fish oil by mild stress suggests possible limitations of low-dose fish oil supplementation in clinical situations.