Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Aug 19, 2020; 10(8): 187-201
Published online Aug 19, 2020. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v10.i8.187
Dietary modification in the treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A systematic review
Monique Aucoin, Laura LaChance, Sam N Clouthier, Kieran Cooley
Monique Aucoin, Sam N Clouthier, Kieran Cooley, Department of Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Toronto M2K 1E2, Canada
Laura LaChance, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0G4, Canada
Laura LaChance, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto M6R 1A1, Canada
Kieran Cooley, Department of Public Health, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo 2007, Australia
Kieran Cooley, Department of Doctoral Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Pacific College of Health Science, San Diego, CA 92108, United States
Author contributions: Aucoin M and LaChance L conceived of this project, completed article screening, data extraction, analysis and interpretation as well as manuscript preparation; Clouthier SN completed additional data extraction and preparation of components of the manuscript; Cooley K contributed to data analysis and interpretation as well as components of the manuscript preparation; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors confirm that the manuscript was prepared according to the PRISMA 2009 checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Monique Aucoin, Research Fellow, Department of Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, 1255 Sheppard Ave E, Toronto M2K 1E2, Canada. maucoin@ccnm.edu
Received: March 20, 2020
Peer-review started: March 20, 2020
First decision: April 26, 2020
Revised: June 25, 2020
Accepted: July 19, 2020
Article in press: July 19, 2020
Published online: August 19, 2020
Core Tip

Core tip: While guidelines exist related to the role of nutrition interventions in the management of obesity and physical comorbidities in patient with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, there is limited clinical use in the management of mental health symptoms. This systematic review identified and analysed the findings of 25 clinical trials which modified participant diet and measured a mental health outcome. Nineteen reported improvement in one or more domain; however, many used additional interventions in combination with nutrition, and failed to report a detailed intervention protocol or assess compliance, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn. Further research is warranted using rigorous methodology.