Supplement Reduced Prisoner Aggression

THE HAGUE, The NetherlandsPrison guards reported fewer incidence of aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathology among inmates who received nutritional supplements containing vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (EFAs) in a new government study from the Netherlands (Aggress Behav. 2010 Mar;36(2):117-26).

In the study, 221 Dutch prisoners, aged 18 to 25 with most aged 21 years, took either nutritional supplements (n=115) or placebos (n=106) for one to three months. Reported incidents were significantly reduced (P=.017) in the group who received the supplements as compared with placebo. However, no significant improvements were found in a number of other self-reported outcome measures of aggressiveness or psychiatric symptoms.