Newswise — Washington D.C. – A new paper suggests that diets could be modified to better support adolescent mental health and provides a detailed roadmap to address the issue.
The new paper reviews 19 studies and finds that across experiments, healthier dietary patterns were often associated with fewer depressive symptoms, while poorer diet quality was linked to increased psychological distress. The researchers then outline how scientists can focus on diet at this critical stage of life and brain development.
The findings appear in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients and the research was supported by the Cognitive Health Committee of the Institute for the Advancement of Food & Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS).
The researchers say the teen years represent a critical opportunity for prevention and early intervention for psychological and mental health. They note that diet is a modifiable, scalable factor embedded in daily life. However, they also say the evidence base for which diets and foods are optimal remains mixed and is at times inconsistent, driving this “systematic synthesis” paper by authors from Swansea University in Wales.
In the paper, they sought to improve the “real-world relevance of findings beyond clinic-defined groups, thereby enhancing applicability for both clinical practice and public-health policy.”
The scientists reviewed 6 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and 13 Prospective Cohort Studies that fit their criteria. They found that “there is emerging but inconsistent evidence that vitamin D supplementation may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents.”
Overall, the researchers found that whole-diet patterns and quality indices showed associations with favorable mental health outcomes, whereas single-nutrient supplements yielded less reliable results.
The review showed that associations between diet and mental health were also sensitive to adjustment for socioeconomic status or differed by sex, indicating complex demographic issues at play. The authors’ findings suggest that public health and clinical strategies should prioritize whole-diet approaches over isolated supplementation for adolescent mental health promotion.
In their Roadmap for Future Research, the authors provide a detailed, multi-dimensional table (Table 3) of optimal research topics and study characteristics. They advocate for more exposure studies and the use of biomarkers in addition to open science, standardization and attention to outcomes beyond depression. The science to date “remains dominated by depression outcomes, leaving anxiety, stress, externalizing behaviors, self-esteem, and aggression comparatively underexplored,” they conclude.
According to Prof. Hayley Young, corresponding author of the study, “The findings suggest that public health and clinical strategies should prioritize whole-diet approaches over isolated supplementation for adolescent mental health promotion.”
The paper is available here.
The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) is committed to leading positive change across the food and beverage ecosystem. This paper was supported by IAFN Cognitive Health Committee. IAFNS is a 501(c)(3) science-focused nonprofit uniquely positioned to mobilize government, industry and academia to drive, fund and lead actionable research. iafns.org
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