Research paper
A Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil improves diet quality and mental health in people with depression: A randomized controlled trial (HELFIMED)
Study answer
What this study found
The Mediterranean-style diet plus fish oil intervention produced greater improvements in depression and mental health-related quality of life than the social control, and these gains were maintained at 6 months. Depression improved more in the active arm than in the social group at 3 months (between-group estimate -4.52, P = 0.027, 95% CI -8.53 to -0.52), and depression scores improved by 45% versus 26.8% in the social group. Mental health-related quality of life also improved, including AQoL happiness (estimate 0.06, P = 0.037), and dietary improvements were seen in Mediterranean diet…
- Study & population
- Randomized controlled trial in community-recruited adults aged 18 to 65 years with self-reported or diagnosed depression in Australia.
- Intervention
- Participants in the active arm received a Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil capsules for 6 months.
- Key limitation
- The intervention combined dietary change with fish oil, so the contribution of each component cannot be isolated.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Objectives: We investigated whether a Mediterranean-style diet (MedDiet) supplemented with fish oil can improve mental health in adults suffering depression. Methods: Adults with self-reported depression were randomized to receive fortnightly food ha…