Department of International Relations, Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia.
Psychiatr Danub. 2023 Oct;35(Suppl 2):423-431.
The role of nutrition in treating clinical depression has been widely discussed. Unhealthy lifestyle patterns, like lack of physical activity, junk food consumption, and irregular sleep patterns are common in depressed patients. Considering the mental and physical side-effects, the daily nutrition of these patients seems to be a plausible option for reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing treatment results.
A PubMed search was done for meta-analyses published from January 2018 to June 2023 with the query: (diet) AND (psychiatric disorder) AND (depression). We selected meta-analyses that met specific criteria like including the entire diet or specific diet patterns and having depression or depressive symptoms as a primary or secondary outcome.
Out of 28 papers found, the 9 meta-analyses, selected for review, revealed different types of correlation between dietary patterns and the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Healthy diets were associated with higher intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and lower intake of pro-inflammatory food items like processed meats and trans fats. Adherence to such diets showed a negative association with incident depression in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. A diet mostly including ultra-processed foods was associated with higher odds of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Women were found to be more susceptible than men both in developing the depressive symptoms with unhealthy diet and in reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety with improvement of diet quality. Statistically significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety in both sexes was observed in study groups assigned for individual consultations of a dietician and a psychotherapist when compared with group sessions or general recommendations.
Research on the correlation of healthy dietary patterns and symptoms of depression and anxiety has mainly focused on non-clinical populations. The evidence supports an inverse association between healthy eating habits and symptoms of depression. Further research should be encouraged on the eating habits of clinically depressed individuals and the underlying physiological mechanisms of uncontrolled food intake.
营养在治疗临床抑郁症中的作用已被广泛讨论。不健康的生活方式，如缺乏体育活动、食用垃圾食品和不规律的睡眠模式，在抑郁患者中很常见。考虑到精神和身体的副作用，这些患者的日常营养似乎是减轻抑郁症状和提高治疗效果的合理选择。
我们在 PubMed 上进行了检索，检索词为：（饮食）和（精神障碍）和（抑郁）。我们选择了符合特定标准的荟萃分析，包括整个饮食或特定的饮食模式，以及将抑郁或抑郁症状作为主要或次要结局。
在 28 篇论文中，我们选择了 9 篇荟萃分析进行综述，这些分析揭示了饮食模式与抑郁和焦虑症状之间的不同类型的相关性。健康饮食与水果、蔬菜、坚果的摄入量较高，以及与加工肉类和反式脂肪等促炎食物的摄入量较低有关。横断面和纵向研究表明，遵循这种饮食与抑郁的发生呈负相关。主要包括超加工食品的饮食与抑郁和焦虑症状的发生几率较高有关。与男性相比，女性在出现与不健康饮食相关的抑郁症状以及通过改善饮食质量减轻抑郁和焦虑症状方面更为敏感。与参加小组会议或接受一般建议的对照组相比，分配给营养师和心理治疗师进行个人咨询的研究组在抑郁和焦虑症状方面有显著的改善。
关于健康饮食模式与抑郁和焦虑症状之间相关性的研究主要集中在非临床人群上。证据支持健康饮食习惯与抑郁症状之间存在反比关系。应鼓励对临床抑郁个体的饮食习惯和无法控制的食物摄入的潜在生理机制进行进一步研究。
