Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Nov 19, 2021; 11(11): 997-1016
Published online Nov 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i11.997
Healthy diet, depression and quality of life: A narrative review of biological mechanisms and primary prevention opportunities
Octavio Pano, Elena H Martínez-Lapiscina, Carmen Sayón-Orea, Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, Jose Alfredo Martinez, Almudena Sanchez-Villegas
Octavio Pano, Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarre, Pamplona 31008, Spain
Elena H Martínez-Lapiscina, Department of Neurology Center of Neuroimmunology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi Sunyer, Barcelona 08036, Spain
Carmen Sayón-Orea, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona 31008, Spain
Carmen Sayón-Orea, Jose Alfredo Martinez, IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona 31008, Spain
Carmen Sayón-Orea, Department of Public Health, Navarra Institute of Public Health and Epidemiology, Pamplona 31003, Spain
Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, Jose Alfredo Martinez, Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, CIBER Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid 28049, Spain
Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States
Jose Alfredo Martinez, Department of Food Sciences and Physiology, University of Navarre, Pamplona 31008, Spain
Jose Alfredo Martinez, Precision Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health Program, IMDEA Food Institute, Madrid 28049, Spain
Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Las Palmas Gran Canaria 35080, Spain
Author contributions: Pano O provided supportive literature and wrote the manuscript; Sánchez-Villegas A provided supportive literature and gave expert advice and guidance on the topic; Martínez-Lapiscina EH, Sayón-Orea C, Martínez JA and Martínez-González MA gave their expert opinion and supervised the review; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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: Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, PhD, Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Las Palmas Gran Canaria, PO Box 550, Las Palmas Gran Canaria 35080, Spain. asanchez@dcc.ulpgc.es
Received: February 27, 2021
Peer-review started: February 27, 2021
First decision: June 5, 2021
Revised: June 19, 2021
Accepted: August 27, 2021
Article in press: August 27, 2021
Published online: November 19, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Parallel biological mechanisms are being uncovered that link both depression and cardiometabolic diseases. Based on this evidence, it has been theorized that a healthful diet could improve the prognosis and prevent depression incidence, similar to its effects on cardiovascular risk. Current epidemiological studies support the link between healthy diets and better symptom management, biomarkers, and health related quality of life related to depression. However, additional longitudinal studies and dedicated clinical trials are needed to fully understand these initial findings. With greater evidence, healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, could facilitate the management and reduce the risk of depression.