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
Meta-Analysis
. 2025 Jan 31;17(3):563.
doi: 10.3390/nu17030563.

Effect of Different Dietary Patterns on Patients with Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Rahele Tavakoly  1   2 , Alina Moosburner  1   2 , Dennis Anheyer  1   2   3 , Holger Cramer  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of Different Dietary Patterns on Patients with Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Rahele Tavakoly et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of different dietary patterns on depressive disorders. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, and ProQuest databases were systematically searched until 30 April 2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of different dietary patterns on depressive symptoms in adults with depressive disorders. Secondary outcomes included remission rates, quality of life, and safety. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were aggregated using a random-effects model. Study quality was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB)-2 tool, and certainty of evidence was determined using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Five RCTs (n = 952) were included, all investigating the Mediterranean diet (MD) in individuals with major depressive disorder or elevated depression levels. The analysis found no significant effect of short-term MD intervention on depression severity compared to active (SMD = -1.25 [95% CI: -5.11 to 2.61]) or passive (SMD = -0.22 [95% CI: -0.74 to 0.29]) controls. There was no effect on quality of life compared to active controls (SMD = 0.71 [95% CI = -3.38 to 4.79]). Intermediate and long-term results were similar. The overall risk of bias was "some concerns", and the certainty of evidence was "very low" for most of the results. Conclusions: The MD appears to have no potential influence on major depressive disorder. However, this finding should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited number of RCTs. Further studies on dietary patterns and depressive disorders are needed for more robust conclusions. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42024541885.

Keywords: clinical trials; depressive disorder; diet; dietary patterns; meta-analysis; systematic reviews.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Risk of bias assessment for included studies; (b) judgements on each domain as a percentage. Cabrera-Suarez et al., 2023-A [38], Cabrera-Suarez et al., 2023-B [37], Bayes et al., 2022 [36], Jacka et al., 2017 [41], Bot et al., 2019 [39], Francis et al., 2019 [40].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of Mediterranean dietary intervention on depressive symptoms severity compared to active or passive control conditions in (a) short, (b) intermediate, and (c) long-term studies. Cabrera-Suarez et al., 2023 [37], Bayes et al., 2022 [36], Jacka et al., 2017 [41], Bot et al., 2019 [39], Francis et al., 2019 [40].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of Mediterranean dietary intervention on health-related quality of life compared to active or passive control conditions in (a) short and (b) long-term studies. Cabrera-Suarez et al., 2023 [38], Bayes et al., 2022 [36], Jacka et al., 2017 [41], Bot et al., 2019 [39].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators Global, regional, and national burden of 12 mental disorders in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Psychiatry. 2022;9:137–150. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00395-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hawton K., i Comabella C.C., Haw C., Saunders K. Risk factors for suicide in individuals with depression: A systematic review. J. Affect. Disord. 2013;147:17–28. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arias D., Saxena S., Verguet S. Quantifying the global burden of mental disorders and their economic value. eClinicalMedicine. 2022;54:101675. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101675. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cipriani A., Furukawa T.A., Salanti G., Chaimani A., Atkinson L.Z., Ogawa Y., Leucht S., Ruhe H.G., Turner E.H., Higgins J.P. Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Lancet. 2018;391:1357–1366. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cuijpers P., Quero S., Noma H., Ciharova M., Miguel C., Karyotaki E., Cipriani A., Cristea I.A., Furukawa T.A. Psychotherapies for depression: A network meta-analysis covering efficacy, acceptability and long-term outcomes of all main treatment types. World Psychiatry. 2021;20:283–293. doi: 10.1002/wps.20860. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources