Dietary pattern and the risk of depression

A paper published in British Journal of Psychiatry, November; 2009, studies the influence of the type of diet on the incidence of depressive disorders in Londoners of about fifty years, men in majority, followed during 5 years. Two types of dietary habits were taken into account; the first containing vegetables, fruits and fish, approaching the Mediterranean type, the second processed food containing sweetened desserts, refined grains, fried food, pies, high fat dairy products. The results showed that the risk of depression was reduced by half in the people who had the greater adherence to the Mediterranean like pattern compared to the people who had the greater adherence to the processed food pattern.

This result raises different questions concerning the possible role of certain specific food and the role of depression on food choice: otherwise is food which modifies mood or mood which modifies the food choice. The authors of the paper have advanced arguments in favour of the second interpretation and concluded that the diet can modify the risk of depression.

So, a Mediterranean type diet is beneficial not only on the cardiovascular level but also to attenuate the risk of depression. Are the psychiatrists ready to give nutritional advices and to take into account the metabolic risks of certain antipsychotics?