The value of omega-3 fatty acids has come under fire lately. But now a new systematic review suggests they might have benefits beyond the previous therapeutic targets of depression, cardiac health, eye health and arthritis.

Researchers have found that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) might reduce the symptoms of clinical anxiety, particularly among those people who had a specific clinical condition be it medical (such as Parkinson disease) or psychological (premenstrual syndrome).

“This systematic review…provides the first meta-analytic evidence, to our knowledge, that omega-3 PUFA treatment may be associated with anxiety reduction, which might not only be due to a potential placebo effect, but also from some associations of treatment with reduced anxiety symptoms,” the review authors said in JAMA.