Dietary Pattern and Mental Health: Review of Literature

Abstract

Introduction

If we are what we eat, are we eating ourselves into depression and anxiety? There has been an emerge evidence supporting a role for lifestyle factors in the development of these conditions.

Objective

To review evolving concepts and gain insight on the phenomenon of dietary pattern and mental health.

Methods

Bibliographic search in Pubmed for articles published between 2010 and 2015, using the keywords words mental health, diet and depression, from the 220 articles found, 68 were included.

Results

From the 68 selected articles, 19 were reviews, 3 randomized controlled trials and 2 meta-analysis. The scientific community agrees that substantial global changes in the food system have had a highly detrimental impact on dietary patterns. Thirty-three articles found a positive correlation between unhealthy dietary patterns and poorer mental health or better mental health with healthy eating habits, such as a potential protective role of mediterranean diet (or similar) with regard to the prevention of depressive disorders. A recent systematic review by Baskin et al (2015) revealed positive associations between poor quality and unhealthy diets and antenatal depressive and stress symptoms. Healthy diets were inversely associated with antenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Conclusion

Although there is some evidence on the association between dietary quality and mental health, we can’t tell if it's a casual linkage or what are the biological pathways that mediate these relationships. Therefore, randomized control trials of diet are necessary to disentangle the effects of multiple health behaviors on mental health.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.