Vegetarian Diet Is Associated with Lower Risk of Depression in Taiwan.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed data from the Tzu Chi Vegetarian Study (TCVS), which is a prospective cohort study following 12,062 participants from the Buddhist Tzu chi Foundation of Taiwan since 2005.
Abstract: In order to determine whether Taiwanese vegetarian diets reduce the risks of depression, we analyzed data from the Tzu Chi Vegetarian Study (TCVS), which is a prospective cohort study following 12,062 participants from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation of Taiwan since 2005. The cohort was prospectively followed by linking to the National Health Institute Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan and hazard ratios of depression between vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups were calculated by Cox proportional hazards regression. We assessed dietary intake using a detailed food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Incident depression was ascertained through linkage to NHIRD which had claim records with the International Classification of Diseases, and a total of 3571 vegetarians and 7006 non-vegetarians were included in this analysis. Compared with non-vegetarians, the vegetarian group had a lower incidence of depressive disorders (2.37 vs. 3.21 per 10,000 person-years; adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 0.70; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.52-0.93). Thus, Taiwanese vegetarians had a lower risk of developing subsequent depressive disorders compared with non-vegetarians. This indicated that diet may be an important measure for the prevention of depression. However, to generalize to the global population requires further study.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated whether a plant-based diet could reduce the burden of long-COVID and found that adoption of a plantbased diet leads to a reduced intake in pro-inflammatory mediators and could be one accessible strategy to tackle long COVID associated prolonged systemic inflammation.
Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2-pandemic has caused mortality and morbidity at an unprecedented global scale. Many patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 continue to experience symptoms after the acute phase of infection and report fatigue, sleep difficulties, anxiety, and depression as well as arthralgia and muscle weakness. Summarized under the umbrella term “long-COVID,” these symptoms may last weeks to months and impose a substantial burden on affected individuals. Dietary approaches to tackle these complications have received comparably little attention. Although plant-based diets in particular were shown to exert benefits on underlying conditions linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes, their role with regard to COVID-19 sequelae is yet largely unknown. Thus, this review sought to investigate whether a plant-based diet could reduce the burden of long-COVID. The number of clinical trials investigating the role of plant-based nutrition in COVID-19 prevention and management is currently limited. Yet, there is evidence from pre-pandemic observational and clinical studies that a plant-based diet may be of general benefit with regard to several clinical conditions that can also be found in individuals with COVID-19. These include anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and musculoskeletal pain. Adoption of a plant-based diet leads to a reduced intake in pro-inflammatory mediators and could be one accessible strategy to tackle long-COVID associated prolonged systemic inflammation. Plant-based diets may be of general benefit with regard to some of the most commonly found COVID-19 sequelae. Additional trials investigating which plant-based eating patterns confer the greatest benefit in the battle against long-COVID are urgently warranted.
13 citations
TL;DR: Vegetarians were associated with reduced risk of clinically overt dementia compared with nonvegetarians and smoking, age, smoking, drinking, education level, marriage, regular exercise, and comorbidities with stepwise regression.
Abstract: The number of people living with dementia globally is increasing rapidly, and there is no effective therapy. Dietary pattern is one important risk factor for the development and progression of dementia. We undertake this study to determine whether Taiwanese vegetarian diet in midlife affects dementia incidence in later years in a prospective cohort. We followed 5710 participants (average age less than 60) in the Tzu Chi Vegetarian Study (TCVS). We started recruiting in 2005 and followed until the end of 2014 when the database changed from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM codes. The incidence of dementia was obtained through linkage to the National Health Insurance Research Database. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the hazard ratio of dementia between vegetarians and nonvegetarians. There were 121 cases of dementia (37 vegetarians and 84 nonvegetarians) diagnosed. Vegetarians were associated with reduced risk of clinically overt dementia compared with nonvegetarians (hazard ratio = 0.671, confidence interval: 0.452–0.996, p < 0.05) after adjusting for gender, age, smoking, drinking, education level, marriage, regular exercise, and comorbidities with stepwise regression.
7 citations
TL;DR: A systematic review of the literature on the associations between vegetarian and/or vegan diets and the risk or symptoms of depression using evidence from both observational and intervention studies is presented in this paper .
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that vegetarian and vegan diets may increase the risk and symptoms of depression, a mental health condition affecting 350 million people globally. We aimed to systematically review the literature on the associations between vegetarian and/or vegan diets and the risk or symptoms of depression using evidence from both observational and intervention studies. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, with pre-specification of all methods. A systematic search for relevant papers was performed on Medline and Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library for cohort, case-control, cross-sectional studies or randomised controlled trials examining associations between a vegetarian or vegan diet and depression in adults. Three independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for Quality Assessment of Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies and Controlled Studies. Evidence was tabulated according to the type of diet analysed as vegetarian, vegan or both and narratively synthesised. A total of 23 studies (18 cross-sectional, three prospective cohort and two randomised controlled trials) with 25 study outcomes were eligible for inclusion in this review. Conflicting evidence was found on the association between vegetarian or vegan diets and depression. Eleven (44%) of the outcomes indicated that vegetarian and vegan diets were associated with higher rates of depression, while seven (28%) outcomes revealed beneficial effects of the diets on depression. Seven (28%) outcomes found no association between vegetarian and vegan diets and depression, although two of these studies found a higher risk of depression in some groups. The quality of evidence was rated as good for four of the studies with the remaining 19 studies rated as fair. The evidence on the effect of vegetarian and vegan diets on depression is contradictory, possibly due to the heterogeneity of the studies analysed. Further research, including longitudinal and intervention studies, is required to resolve this observation.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored the association between diet quality and depressive symptoms across omnivore, vegan, and vegetarian dietary patterns and found a significant, moderately negative relationship between higher diet quality with lower depressive symptoms (r = −0.385, p < 0.001) across groups.
Abstract: Dietary patterns and depressive symptoms are associated in cross-sectional and prospective-designed research. However, limited research has considered depression risk related to meat-based and plant-based dietary patterns. This study explores the association between diet quality and depressive symptoms across omnivore, vegan, and vegetarian dietary patterns. A cross-sectional online survey utilised the Dietary Screening Tool (DST) and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale (CESD-20) to measure diet quality and depressive symptoms, respectively. A total of 496 participants identified as either omnivores (n = 129), vegetarians (n = 151), or vegans (n = 216). ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc corrections indicates that dietary quality was significantly different between groups F(2, 493) = 23.61, p < 0.001 for omnivores and vegetarians and omnivores and vegans. Diet quality was highest in the vegan sample, followed by vegetarian and omnivore patterns. The results show a significant, moderately negative relationship between higher diet quality and lower depressive symptoms (r = −0.385, p < 0.001) across groups. Hierarchical regression showed that diet quality accounted for 13% of the variability in depressive symptoms for the omnivore sample, 6% for vegetarians, and 8% for vegans. This study suggests that diet quality in a meat-based or plant-based diet could be a modifiable lifestyle factor with the potential to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms. The study indicates a greater protective role of a high-quality plant-based diet and lower depressive symptoms. Further intervention research is needed to understand the bi-directional relationship between diet quality and depressive symptoms across dietary patterns.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , a cross-sectional analysis was performed with baseline data from the ELSA-Brasil cohort, which included 14,216 Brazilians aged 35 to 74 years.
2 citations
References
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TL;DR: Increases in the abundance and activity of Bilophila wadsworthia on the animal-based diet support a link between dietary fat, bile acids and the outgrowth of microorganisms capable of triggering inflammatory bowel disease.
Abstract: Long-term dietary intake influences the structure and activity of the trillions of microorganisms residing in the human gut, but it remains unclear how rapidly and reproducibly the human gut microbiome responds to short-term macronutrient change. Here we show that the short-term consumption of diets composed entirely of animal or plant products alters microbial community structure and overwhelms inter-individual differences in microbial gene expression. The animal-based diet increased the abundance of bile-tolerant microorganisms (Alistipes, Bilophila and Bacteroides) and decreased the levels of Firmicutes that metabolize dietary plant polysaccharides (Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale and Ruminococcus bromii). Microbial activity mirrored differences between herbivorous and carnivorous mammals, reflecting trade-offs between carbohydrate and protein fermentation. Foodborne microbes from both diets transiently colonized the gut, including bacteria, fungi and even viruses. Finally, increases in the abundance and activity of Bilophila wadsworthia on the animal-based diet support a link between dietary fat, bile acids and the outgrowth of microorganisms capable of triggering inflammatory bowel disease. In concert, these results demonstrate that the gut microbiome can rapidly respond to altered diet, potentially facilitating the diversity of human dietary lifestyles.
7,032 citations
TL;DR: Alternative enterotype states are associated with long-term diet, particularly protein and animal fat (Bacteroides) versus carbohydrates (Prevotella) and other enterotypes distinguished primarily by levels of Bacteroide and Prevotella.
Abstract: Diet strongly affects human health, partly by modulating gut microbiome composition. We used diet inventories and 16S rDNA sequencing to characterize fecal samples from 98 individuals. Fecal communities clustered into enterotypes distinguished primarily by levels of Bacteroides and Prevotella. Enterotypes were strongly associated with long-term diets, particularly protein and animal fat (Bacteroides) versus carbohydrates (Prevotella). A controlled-feeding study of 10 subjects showed that microbiome composition changed detectably within 24 hours of initiating a high-fat/low-fiber or low-fat/high-fiber diet, but that enterotype identity remained stable during the 10-day study. Thus, alternative enterotype states are associated with long-term diet.
5,174 citations
TL;DR: These low molecular mass antioxidant molecules add significantly to the defense provided by the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidases, which are termed ‘oxidative stress’.
Abstract: An imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favour of the oxidants, potentially leading to damage, is termed 'oxidative stress'. Oxidants are formed as a normal product of aerobic metabolism but can be produced at elevated rates under pathophysiological conditions. Antioxidant defense involves several strategies, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic. In the lipid phase, tocopherols and carotenes as well as oxy-carotenoids are of interest, as are vitamin A and ubiquinols. In the aqueous phase, there are ascorbate, glutathione and other compounds. In addition to the cytosol, the nuclear and mitochondrial matrices and extracellular fluids are protected. Overall, these low molecular mass antioxidant molecules add significantly to the defense provided by the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidases.
4,485 citations
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of studies measuring cytokine concentration in patients with major depression reports significantly higher concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 in depressed subjects compared with control subjects, strengthening evidence that depression is accompanied by activation of the IRS.
3,800 citations
TL;DR: There are striking similarities across countries in patterns of major depression and of bipolar disorder and the differences in rates for major depression across countries suggest that cultural differences or different risk factors affect the expression of the disorder.
Abstract: Objective. —To estimate the rates and patterns of major depression and bipolar disorder based on cross-national epidemiologic surveys. Design and Setting. —Population-based epidemiologic studies using similar methods from 10 countries: the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, France, West Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Taiwan, Korea, and New Zealand. Participants. —Approximately 38 000 community subjects. Outcome Measures. —Rates, demographics, and age at onset of major depression and bipolar disorder. Symptom profiles, comorbidity, and marital status with major depression. Results. —The lifetime rates for major depression vary widely across countries, ranging from 1.5 cases per 100 adults in the sample in Taiwan to 19.0 cases per 100 adults in Beirut. The annual rates ranged from 0.8 cases per 100 adults in Taiwan to 5.8 cases per 100 adults in New Zealand. The mean age at onset shows less variation (range, 24.8-34.8 years). In every country, the rates of major depression were higher for women than men. By contrast, the lifetime rates of bipolar disorder are more consistent across countries (0.3/100 in Taiwan to 1.5/100 in New Zealand); the sex ratios are nearly equal; and the age at first onset is earlier (average, 6 years) than the onset of major depression. Insomnia and loss of energy occurred in most persons with major depression at each site. Persons with major depression were also at increased risk for comorbidity with substance abuse and anxiety disorders at all sites. Persons who were separated or divorced had significantly higher rates of major depression than married persons in most of the countries, and the risk was somewhat greater for divorced or separated men than women in most countries. Conclusions. —There are striking similarities across countries in patterns of major depression and of bipolar disorder. The differences in rates for major depression across countries suggest that cultural differences or different risk factors may affect the expression of the disorder.
2,245 citations