New research has highlighted the benefits of an intervention based on a Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil on patients with depressive episodes. The study, published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, was coordinated by the Biomedical Research Center – Nutrition Physiopathology of Madrid (CIBERobn) and involved Spanish hospitals and universities.
Depression, a growing phenomenon
Depression represents an increasingly greater challenge for global public health because it is a widespread mental disorder throughout the world that can manifest itself at an early age (even in children as young as three years old) and, moreover, it is one of the main global causes of deterioration in the quality of life. Just to stay in Italy, from continuous investigations conducted by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) show that well 6 people out of a hundred in the Italian adult population they report depressive symptoms, a percentage that rises to 9% among the elderly. Up to 30% among the latter if burdened by economic difficulties.
According to the Research Center, no previous study has so far evaluated the effect of a personalized intervention with a Mediterranean diet added to routine care on the reduction of symptoms in patients recovered from depression.
The Mediterranean diet plus EVO
The Mediterranean diet is currently considered one of the healthiest dietary patterns in the world. This dietary pattern is a modifiable lifestyle factor that could influence the onset, development, and prognosis of depression. In fact, several observational studies have described a relationship between high adherence to the Mediterranean diet and a lower risk of depression.
The results of this study, funded by the FIS (Health Research Fund), conclusively reveal that the adoption of this dietary model, which includes the Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil, can lead to a significant reduction in the manifestation of depressive symptoms, thus offering new insights into the influence of diet on mental health. This finding, according to the researchers, not only highlights the importance of nutrition for emotional health, but also suggests the feasibility of diet-based strategies to complement more traditional approaches in the treatment of depression.
Study methodology
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a two-year intervention with a Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil, in addition to usual care, on reducing the risk of relapse and improving depressive symptoms in patients who had previously suffered from depression.
The research team worked with 52 men and 144 women aged between 18 and 86 years who had suffered from at least one episode of depression in the previous five years and who had been in full or partial clinical remission in the previous six months. After their data were entered into a centralized data management system by specialists, the study participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups (Mediterranean diet or control). Several stratification factors were taken into account for the random assignment: gender, age group (<65 years or ≥65 years), and recruitment center. At the start of the study, the psychiatric and psychological teams were unaware of the participants’ assignment.
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