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2011-01-26 07:12:06
Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research
suggests.
What is more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had
a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found.
Data on diet among 3,500 middle-aged civil servants was compared with
depression five years later, the British Journal of Psychiatry reported.
The team said the study was the first to look at the UK diet and depression.
The UK population is consuming less nutritious, fresh produce and more
saturated fats and sugars
Dr Andrew McCulloch, Mental Health Foundation
They split the participants into two types of diet - those who ate a diet
largely based on whole foods, which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and
fish, and those who ate a mainly processed food diet, such as sweetened
desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy
products.
After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity,
smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in
future depression risk with the different diets.
Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression
than those who at the least whole foods.
By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of
depression than those who ate very few processed foods.
Mediterranean diet
Although the researchers cannot totally rule out the possibility that people
with depression may eat a less healthy diet they believe it is unlikely to be
the reason for the findings because there was no association with diet and
previous diagnosis of depression.
Study author Dr Archana Singh-Manoux pointed out there is a chance the finding
could be explained by a lifestyle factor they had not accounted for.
"There was a paper showing a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower
risk of depression but the problem with that is if you live in Britain the
likelihood of you eating a Mediterranean diet is not very high.
"So we wanted to look at bit differently at the link between diet and mental
health."
It is not yet clear why some foods may protect against or increase the risk of
depression but scientists think there may be a link with inflammation as with
conditions such as heart disease.
Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
"This study adds to an existing body of solid research that shows the strong
links between what we eat and our mental health.
"Major studies like this are crucial because they hold the key to us better
understanding mental illness."
He added people's diets were becoming increasingly unhealthy.
"The UK population is consuming less nutritious, fresh produce and more
saturated fats and sugars.
"We are particularly concerned about those who cannot access fresh produce
easily or live in areas where there are a high number of fast food restaurants
and takeaways."
Margaret Edwards, head of strategy at the mental health charity SANE, said:
"Physical and mental health are closely related, so we should not be too
surprised by these results, but we hope there will be further research which
may help us to understand more fully the relationship between diet and mental
health."