Browsing by Author "Mylläri, Sanna"

Although there are many effective ways to treat major depressive disorder, its prevalence is not decreasing. Active research is needed to find more ways to treat and prevent depressive episodes. Observational studies have shown that unhealthy diet is associated with increased risk of depression. The aim of this review is to examine current evidence concerning dietary intervention as a treatment for depression. Furthermore, the effect of dietary intervention to depressive symptoms among people without clinical depression is examined. For time being, three randomized controlled trials of dietary treatment for depression have been made in Australia. In two of these studies diet intervention group had significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms compared to control group. One study did not find difference between intervention and control groups. In this study, however, both of the groups improved their diet during the intervention period which can distract the interpretation of the result. In studies among people with non-clinical depressive symptoms dietary improvements had positive outcomes in two intervention studies. Lack of control group distracts the interpretation of results in these studies. Finnish intervention study did not find decrease in depressive symptoms after dietary intervention, but in this study the symptoms were quite mild in the beginning. Depressive symptoms have also been used as a secondary outcome in studies concerning dietary treatment of lifestyle diseases. Meta-analysis of these studies shows that about half of the studies found decreasing in depressive symptoms after intervention period. So far there is not much research done about the effectiveness of dietary intervention as a treatment for depression. However, the current evidence seems promising and no negative effects have been found. More research is needed to ensure if dietary intervention could be an effective treatment for depression either as a separate intervention or together with other treatment.