Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug 30;13(9):1262.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci13091262.

Exploring the Relationship between Mood Disorders and Coexisting Health Conditions: The Focus on Nutraceuticals

Agnieszka Mechlińska  1 , Mariusz S Wiglusz  1 , Jakub Słupski  1 , Adam Włodarczyk  1 , Wiesław J Cubała  1
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the Relationship between Mood Disorders and Coexisting Health Conditions: The Focus on Nutraceuticals

Agnieszka Mechlińska et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder are the leading causes of global disability. Approximately 50% of patients fail to attain remission, prompting a pronounced focus on the significance of dietary patterns and specific nutrients within the pathophysiology of mood disorders. The connection between chronic diseases and mood disorders follows a bidirectional pattern: physical ailments are interrelated with affective disorders, and, concurrently, mood symptoms often precede chronic diseases and have the potential to worsen their prognosis. Nutraceuticals affect factors that could potentially impact the onset of mood disorders: monoamines and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and sleep quality. Furthermore, mood disorders rarely manifest in isolation. Typically, such patients concurrently experience other mental disorders or somatic comorbidities: obesity, hypertension, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), etc., where providing nutritional support is also pertinent. To optimize the therapeutic approach for individuals with mood disorders, incorporating nutritional support may not solely ameliorate symptoms stemming directly from the mental condition, but also indirectly through interventions targeting comorbidities.

Keywords: bipolar disorder; comorbidity; major depressive disorder; nutraceuticals; nutritional support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Agnieszka Mechlińska has no conflict of interest. Mariusz S. Wiglusz has received research support from Alkermes, Biogen, Janssen, KCR, Otsuka, and Servier. Jakub Słupski has received research support from Actavis, Eli Lilly, Minerva, Sunovion, Celon, Janssen, Biogen, and Novartis. Adam Włodarczyk has received research support from Actavis, Eli Lilly, Minerva Neurosciences, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, KCR, Janssen, Otsuka, Apodemus, Cortexyme, and Acadia. Wiesław J. Cubała has received research support from Acadia, Alkermes, Allergan, Angelini, Auspex Pharmaceuticals, BMS, Celon, Cephalon, Cortexyme, Ferrier, Forest Laboratories, GedeonRichter, GWPharmaceuticals, HMNC Brain Health, IntraCellular Therapies, Janssen, KCR, Lilly, Lundbeck, Minerva, MSD, NIH, Novartis, Orion, Otsuka, Sanofi, and Servier; Honoraria from Adamed, Angelini, AstraZeneca, BMS, Celon, GSK, Janssen, KRKA, Lekam, Lundbeck, Minerva, NeuroCog, Novartis, Orion, Pfizer, Polfa Tarchomin, Sanofi, Servier, and Zentiva; Advisory board position with Angelini, Celon (terminated), Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, and Sanofi.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The factors influencing the pathogenesis of mood disorders [14,16,20,21,24,27,28,29,30,33,34,37,39,41,44,48,51,52,53].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of nutraceuticals’ impact on the mechanisms involved in the development of mood disorders. Nutraceuticals have the potential to directly target the underlying factors contributing to the onset and advancement of mood disorders, as well as indirectly through a positive effect on the somatic and autoimmune conditions frequently associated with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. World Health Organization. [(accessed on 25 March 2023)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders.
    1. Nestsiarovich A., Reps Jenna M., Matheny Michael E., DuVall S., Lynch K., Beaton M., Jiang X., Spotnitz M., Pfohl S.R., Shah N.H., et al. Predictors of diagnostic transition from major depressive disorder to bipolar disorder: A retrospective observational network study. Transl. Psychiatr. 2021;11:642. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01760-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rakofsky J., Rapaport M. Mood Disorders. Continuum. Behav. Neurol. Psychiatr. 2018;24:804–827. doi: 10.1212/CON.0000000000000604. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jones B.D.M., Daskalakis Z.J., Carvalho A.F., Strawbridge R., Young A.H., Mulsant B.H., Ishrat Husain M. Inflammation as a treatment target in mood disorders: Review. BJPsych Open. 2020;6:e60. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2020.43. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sarno E., Moeser A.J., Robison A.J. Neuroimmunology of depression. Adv. Pharmacol. 2021;91:259–292. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources