MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND DEPRESSION: A LITERATURE REVIEW OF HUMAN STUDIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5307Keywords:
Mediterranean Diet, Depression, Dietary Interventions, Mental Health and NutritionAbstract
With depression as a major cause of disability worldwide, the need for risk reduction and improving treatment outcomes is pressing. This narrative review summarizes human evidence on the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and depressive disorders or depressive symptoms, and on the effects of Mediterranean-style dietary interventions in reducing depressive symptoms. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases, using keywords such as “Mediterranean diet”, “Depression” among others, and studies were selected and reviewed. Overall, observational evidence from multiple cross-sectional studies and several prospective cohorts indicates that higher MD adherence is associated with fewer depressive symptoms and a modestly reduced risk of incident depression across diverse populations. Randomized and cluster-randomized trials in clinical and at-risk groups further suggest that Mediterranean-style dietary interventions can reduce depressive symptom severity and improve mental health–related quality of life when used alongside usual care. Meta analyses and systematic reviews consistently show statistical significance of the findings. Potential mechanisms include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, neurotrophic and neurotransmitter pathways, gut–brain interactions, and improvements in cardiometabolic health. The MD appears to be a safe and feasible adjunctive lifestyle recommendation for adults with depression, although heterogeneity in exposure measurement and limited long-term trial data warrant larger, multi-centre studies with longer follow-up and mechanistic assessments, across different populations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Krzysztof Biłyk, Wiktoria Marzec , Hanna Maruchniak, Paulina Biedroń , Anna Skrzypek , Maciej Hutkowski , Mikołaj Zbrożek , Zuzanna Chwostek , Bartłomiej Kosiarski , Patrycja Markowicz
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