Effects of Dietary Interventions on Depressive Symptoms
SBU does not issue recommendations or guidelines on how healthcare, dental care or social services should operate, or on which interventions and methods should be provided. SBU critically appraises and synthesises research on interventions and methods through systematic reviews.
Question
What systematic reviews exist on the effects of dietary interventions, in the form of whole-diet approaches or dietary supplements, on depressive symptoms.
PICO
- Population: Adults diagnosed with depression
- Intervention: Dietary interventions, both whole-diets and dietary supplements
- Comparison: No or other invention, placebo, waiting list or care as usual
- Outcome: Changes in depressive symptoms
- Study design: Systematic reviews fully or partly based on studies with experimental designs
Method
A systematic literature search was performed using the following databases: Medline (via Ovid) and Scopus.
Two authors independently assessed the abstracts of all identified studies.
Risk of bias in relevant systematic reviews was assessed using an assessment tool based on AMSTAR.
Identified literature
Nine relevant systematic reviews with low to moderate risk of bias were identified [1-9]. Due to overlap in the primary studies, only four are presented with results and conclusions. The results and conclusions are presented in Table 1 to 4. In 33 relevant systematic reviews, the risk of bias was considered to be high, therefore the results and conclusions are not reported [10-42].
| RCT = randomized controlled study; UK = United Kingdom; SMD = standardized mean difference; CI = confidence interval | ||
| Included studies | Population, Intervention, Control | Outcome and Results |
|---|---|---|
| Tavakoly et al, 2025 [9] Effect of Different Dietary Patterns on Patients with Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials |
||
| Included studies: 5 RCT Setting: Australia: 3 studies Spain: 1 study Four European countries (Germany, Spain, UK, Netherlands): 1 study |
Population: |
Depressive symptom severity (short term) Compared to active control (2 studies, n=142) Statistically non-significant results SMD: −1.25 (95% CI, −5.11 to 2.61) Compared to passive control (3 studies, n=810) Statistically non-significant results SMD: −0.22 (95% CI, −0.74 to 0.29) Depressive symptom severity (intermediate term) Compared to passive control (2 studies, n=709) Statistically non-significant results SMD: −0.14 (95% CI, −0.98 to 0.70) Depressive symptom severity (long term) Compared to passive control (2 studies, n=709) Statistically non-significant results SMD: −0.16 (95% CI, −1.13 to 0.81) |
| Authors' conclusion: “[Mediterranean diet] interventions appear to have no potential influence on major depressive disorder; however, this finding should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of RCTs available. Further studies on dietary patterns and depressive disorders are needed for more robust conclusions.” |
||
| DHA = docosahexaenoic acid; EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid; RCT = randomized controlled study; SMD = standardized mean difference; CI = confidence interval | ||
| Included studies | Population, Intervention, Control | Outcome and Results |
|---|---|---|
| Mocking et al, 2016 [8] Meta-analysis and meta-regression of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for major depressive disorder |
||
| Included studies: 15 RCT Setting: No information provided |
Population: Adult patients with MDD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as assessed by a standardized clinical interview (n=1253) Intervention: Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation EPA doses between 0 to 4400 DHA doses between 0 to 2200 EPA+DHA ratio of 0 to 1) Control: Placebo |
Depressive symptoms Omega-3 vs placebo Patients with depressive symptoms in major depressive disorder (13 studies, n=1233): Statistically significant results in favour of omega-3 SMD = 0.398 (95% CI, 0.114 to 0.682), P=0.006 |
| Authors' conclusion: “[...]the present meta-analysis observed a beneficial overall effect of omega-3 PUFA supplementation in patients with MDD according to diagnostic criteria, which seemed larger in studies that supplemented higher doses of EPA and included patients taking antidepressants.” |
||
| RCT = randomized controlled study; UK = United Kingdom; SMD = standardized mean difference; CI = confidence interval | ||
| Included studies | Population, Intervention, Control | Outcome and Results |
|---|---|---|
| Asad et al, 2024 [3] Effects of Prebiotics and Probiotics on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Clinically Diagnosed Samples: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials |
||
| Included studies: 23 RCT Setting: Iran: 6 studies China: 6 studies Japan: 2 studies UK: 2 studies Netherlands: 1 study Australia: 1 study Poland: 1 study India: 1 study Canada: 1 study New Zealand: 1 study Switzerland: 1 study |
Population: Adults aged 18–65, clinically diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety. Analyses are outcome-based, and populations may include comorbid conditions (n=1401) Intervention: Prebiotics and/or probiotics as a stand-alone or adjunctive intervention Control: Placebo or treatment as usual; no additional pre- or probiotic supplementation. Standard depression treatment (e.g., antidepressants/psychotherapy) allowed in both groups. |
Depression severity Probiotics vs control group (18 studies, n=969) Statistically significant reduction SMD=–0.96 (–0.64 after exclusion of studies at high risk of bias) (95% CI, –1.31 to –0.61) Certainty of evidence: Low (downgraded two levels) according to GRADE Prebiotics vs control group (3 studies, n=144) Statistically non-significant results SMD=–0.28 (95% CI, –0.61 to 0.04) |
| Authors' conclusion: “Probiotic interventions, either as a stand-alone treatment or combined with antidepressant medication use, show effectiveness in reducing symptoms in clinically diagnosed patients […] Further research into probiotic effectiveness across various demographic factors, such as ethnicity, age, gender, and mental health diagnoses, with and without comorbid clinical conditions, is recommended.” |
||
| RCT = randomized controlled study; CI = Confidence interval | ||
| Included studies | Population, Intervention, Control | Outcome and Results |
|---|---|---|
| Mikola et al., 2023 [7] The effect of vitamin D supplementation on depressive symptoms in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
||
| Included studies: 41 RCTs Setting: Iran: 18 studies USA: 6 studies Australia: 5 studies Norway: 3 studies Denmark: 2 studies China: 2 studies Netherlands: 2 studies New Zealand: 1 study Austria: 1 study India: 1 study |
Population: Adults from general and clinical populations, including participants with major depressive disorder (MDD), depressive symptoms, and various somatic conditions (n=53 235). Intervention: Vitamin D supplementation (cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol or calcitriol), with or without calcium supplementation. Control: Placebo |
Depressive symptoms (all studies) 41 studies, n=53 23 5Statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms. Hedges' g = −0.317 (95% CI, −0.405 to −0.230) GRADE: Very low certainty of evidence Major depressive disorder (MDD) 7 studies, n=1166 Statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms Hedges' g = −0.729 (95% CI, −1.100 to −0.358) None of the studies were rated as having low overall risk of bias. Studies at low risk of bias (primarily non-MDD populations) 5 studies, n=9981 No statistically significant effect. Hedges' g = 0.037 (95% CI, −0.002 to 0.077) |
| Authors' conclusion: “Vitamin D supplementation has beneficial effects in both individuals with MDD as well as in those with milder, clinically significant depressive symptoms. There was, however, evidence of high heterogeneity and publication bias that needs to be considered in the interpretation of findings.” |
||
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Search strategies
Medline via OvidSP 18 May 26
| / = Term from the MeSH controlled vocabulary; .sh = Term from the MeSH controlled vocabulary; exp = Term from MeSH including terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy; .ti,ab = Title or abstract; .tw = Title or abstract; .kf = Keywords; .kw = Keywords, exact; .bt = Book title. NLM Bookshelf; .pt = Publication type; .ja = Journal abbreviation; .af = All fields; adjn = Adjacent. Proximity operator retrieving adjacent words, adj3 retrieves records with search terms within two terms from each other; * or $ = Truncation; “ “ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase | ||
| Search terms | Items found | |
|---|---|---|
| Population: | ||
| 1. | exp depression/ or (depressi* or anxiety or "mental dis*" or "mental health" or "mood dis*").ti. | 437 947 |
| Intervention: | ||
| 2. | exp Food/ or exp Diet/ or exp Meals/ or exp Nutritional Sciences/ or exp Nutrition Therapy/ | 1 931 416 |
| 3. | ((nutrition* or diet*) adj6 (treatment* or intervention* or therap*)).ti,ab,kf. | 135 031 |
| 4. | ((diet* or nutrition*) adj3 supplement*).ti,ab,kf. | 85 178 |
| 2 OR 3 OR 4 | 1 947 752 | |
| Study types: systematic reviews and meta-analysis | ||
| 5. | ((Systematic Review/ or Meta-Analysis/ or Cochrane Database Syst Rev.ja. or (((systematic or realist or integrative or qualitative or mixed method* or evidence or critical) adj4 (review or synthe*)) or "meta analys*" or metaanalys* or meta synthe* or metasynthe* or "meta narrative" or meta aggreg* or meta ethnograph*).ti,bt,ab,kf.) not (editorial/ or letter/ or case reports/)) | 670 234 |
| Combined sets: | ||
| 6. | 1 AND (2 or 3 or 4) AND 5 | 521 |
| Final result | ||
| 7. | 521 | |
Scopus via scopus.com 18 May 26
| TITLE-ABS-KEY = Title, abstract or keywords (including indexed keywords and author keywords); ALL = All fields; W/n = Within. Proximity operator retrieving terms within n words from each other; PRE/n = Precedes by. Proximity operator, the first term in the search must precede the second by n words; LIMIT-TO (X) = Includes only results of specified type, e.g., publication type or time range; DOCTYPE = Publication type; “re” = review; “le” = letter; “ed” = editorial; “ch” = book chapter; “cp” = conference proceedings; * = Truncation; “ “ = Citation Marks; searches for an exact phrase | ||
| Search terms | Items found | |
|---|---|---|
| Population: | ||
| 1. | TITLE ((depressi* OR anxiety OR "mental dis*" OR "mental health" OR "mood dis*")) | 506 914 |
| Intervention: | ||
| 2. | (TITLE-ABS (vitamin* OR mineral* OR carbohydrate* OR protein* OR "fatty acid*" OR omega-3 OR omega-6 OR fibre* OR keto* OR mediterran* OR LCHF OR antiinflammatory OR prebiotic* OR probiotic* OR "amino acid*" OR antioxidant*)) OR (TITLE-ABS ((diet* OR nutrition*) W/2 supplement*)) OR (TITLE-ABS (((nutrition* OR diet*) W/5 (treatment* OR intervention* OR therap*)))) | 7 938 587 |
| Study types: systematic reviews and meta-analysis / randomized controlled trials | ||
| 3. | (TITLE-ABS ((systematic OR realist OR integrative OR qualitative OR evidence OR critical OR "mixed method") W/2 ( review OR synthes*)) OR TITLE-ABS ("meta analys*" OR metaanalys* OR meta synthe* OR metasynthe* OR "meta narrative" OR meta aggreg* OR meta ethnograph*)) AND (EXCLUDE (DOCTYPE,"le") OR EXCLUDE (DOCTYPE,"ed") OR EXCLUDE (DOCTYPE,"ch") OR EXCLUDE (DOCTYPE,"cp")) | 648 918 |
| Combined sets: | ||
| 4. | 1 AND 2 AND 3 | 639 |
| Final result | ||
| 5. | 639 | |