A comparative study of dietary habits and nutritional intakes among Korean adults according to current depression status

Bupleurum scorzonerifolium: Systematic research through pharmacodynamics and serum pharmacochemistry on screening antidepressant Q-markers for quality control

Bupleurum scorzonerifolium (BS) is one of the sources of Bupleuri Radix, which was first recorded in Shennong's classic of materia medica. It has a medicinal history of 2000 years and is now widely used for the treatment of depression clinically. However, the material basis of antidepressant effects is unclear, and the quality evaluation method is lacking. The paper aims to investigate the antidepressant quality markers (Q-markers) of BS by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS). Firstly, the rat depression model was established by using chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) combined with the solitary confinement method to evaluate the pharmacodynamics of BS. After verification of the antidepressant effect of BS, UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze BS and the blood components of BS. A total of 34 components were identified in BS, in which 8 components, including saikosaponin a (SSa), saikosaponin c (SSc), saikosaponin d (SSd), saikosaponin b₁ (SSb₁), saikosaponin b₂ (SSb₂), glycyrrhetinic acid, nootkatone and valerenic acid, were detected in serum. SSa, SSc, SSd, SSb₁ and SSb₂ were found as metabolites, and glycyrrhetinic acid, nootkatone and valerenic Acid were identified as the prototypes in the blood. The depression model of zebrafish was established with reserpine to verify the antidepressant effect of the potential eight active components. The results showed that all these components could markedly improve the depressive behavior of zebrafish, increase the content of 5-HT and reduce the cortisol content. Finally, according to the principles of effectiveness, accessibility and measurability for Q-markers, SSa, SSc, and SSd were confirmed as Q-markers of BS, and the contents of 3 Q-markers in 10 batches of BS from different origins were determined to be 0.0728-1.465%. In addition, the total contents of 3 Q-markers in BS produced in Lindian, Heilongjiang Province, were higher than those in other origins. This paper provided a reliable method for the quality evaluation of BS for depression treatment.

Associations of Dietary Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene Intake With Depression. A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Objective

To clarify the associations of dietary vitamin A and beta-carotene intake with depression based on a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Methods

An extensive literature search on February 2022 (PubMed, Web of Science and Embase) was employed to identify observational studies on the associations of dietary vitamin A and beta-carotene intake with depression. The pooled relative risk (RR) of depression for the highest vs. lowest dietary vitamin A and beta-carotene intake category, and the standard mean difference (SMD) of dietary vitamin A and beta-carotene intake for depression vs. control subjects, were calculated.

Results

A total of 25 observational studies (100,955 participants), which included 24 cross-sectional/case-control and 1 prospective cohort study, were included in this study. The overall multi-variable adjusted RR demonstrated that dietary vitamin A intake was inversely associated with depression (RR = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.70–1.00; P = 0.05). In addition, the combined SMD showed that the dietary vitamin A intake in depression was also lower than that in control subjects (SMD = −0.13, 95%CI: −0.18 to −0.07; P < 0.001). On the other hand, the overall multi-variable adjusted RR indicated that dietary beta-carotene intake was negatively associated with depression (RR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.55–0.72; P < 0.001). The combined SMD showed that the dietary beta-carotene intake in depression was also lower than that in control subjects (SMD = −0.34, 95%CI: −0.48 to −0.20; P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that both dietary vitamin A and beta-carotene intake is inversely associated with depression. However, due to the limited evidence, further prospective cohort studies are still needed.

Diet Quality and Sociodemographic, Lifestyle, and Health-Related Determinants among People with Depression in Spain: New Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study (2011-2017)

The role of diet quality in depression is an emerging research area and it appears that diet quality could be an important modifying factor. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of diet quality among individuals with and without a self-reported diagnosis of depression aged from 16 to 64 years old in Spain, to analyze the time trends of the frequency of food consumption and diet quality from 2011 to 2017 in individuals with a self-reported diagnosis of depression, and to explore the associations between poor/improvable diet quality and sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors. A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted in 42,280 participants with and without a self-reported diagnosis of depression who had participated in the 2011/2012 and 2017 Spanish National Health Surveys and the 2014 European Health Survey in Spain. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with diet quality. The overall prevalence of diet quality among depressive and non-depressive individuals revealed 65.71% and 70.27% were in need of improvement, respectively. Moreover, having a poor or improvable diet quality is associated with male gender, people aged 16-24 years old and 25-44 years old, separated or divorced, and also in smokers.

Development, validation and utilisation of dish-based dietary assessment tools: a scoping review

Objective:

To summarise the existing evidence of development, validation and current status of utilisation of dish-based dietary assessment tools.

Design:

Scoping review.

Setting:

Systematic search using PubMed and Web of Science.

Results:

We identified twelve tools from seventy-four eligible publications. They were developed for Koreans (n 4), Bangladeshis (n 2), Iranians (n 1), Indians/Malays/Chinese (n 1), Japanese (n 3) and Chinese Americans (n 1). Most tools (10/12) were composed of a dish-based FFQ. Although the development process of a dish list varied among the tools, six studies classified mixed dishes based on the similarity of their characteristics such as food ingredients and cooking methods. Tools were validated against self-reported dietary information (n 9) and concentration biomarkers (n 1). In the eight studies assessing the differences between the tool and a reference, the mean (or median) intake of energy significantly differed in five studies, and 26–83 % of nutrients significantly differed in eight studies. Correlation coefficients for energy ranged from 0·15 to 0·87 across the thirteen studies, and the median correlation coefficients for nutrients ranged from 0·12 to 0·77. Dish-based dietary assessment tools were used in fifty-nine studies mainly to assess diet–disease relationships in target populations.

Conclusions:

Dish-based dietary assessment tools have exclusively been developed and used for Asian-origin populations. Further validation studies, particularly biomarker-based studies, are needed to assess the applicability of tools.

Adjunctive folate for major mental disorders: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

This is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the efficacy and safety of adjunctive folate for three major mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder (MDD)).

METHODS

Review Manager Program Version 5.3 was used to analyze data.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies with 16 RCTs (n = 1,520) on folate for schizophrenia (4 RCTs, n = 210), mood disorders (i.e., unipolar and bipolar depression) (1 RCT, n = 60), bipolar disorder (2 RCTs, n = 189) and MDD (9 RCTs, n = 1,061) were analyzed separately by diagnosis. For schizophrenia, adjunctive folate was not superior to placebo in terms of total psychopathology (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.14, 95% confidential interval (CI): -0.67, 0.39; I² = 30%, P = 0.60), and positive (SMD = 0.09, 95% CI: -0.44, 0.62; I² = not applicable, P = 0.74), negative (SMD = -0.39, 95% CI:-0.84, 0.05; I² = 50%, P = 0.08), and general symptom scores (SMD = -0.33, 95%CI:-0.87, 0.20; I² = not applicable, P = 0.22). For bipolar and unipolar depression, adjunctive folate was significantly superior to placebo in improving depressive symptoms. For bipolar disorder, adjunctive folate was effective in treating the acute phase of mania in bipolar disorder, but not in the acute phase of depression. For MDD, adjunctive folate was significantly superior to placebo in improving depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.38, 95%CI: -0.66, -0.09; I² = 71%, P = 0.01), which was confirmed in 5 of the 10 subgroups. Discontinuation due to any reason and adverse drug reactions were similar between folate and placebo in each diagnostic category.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review found adjunctive folate appeared to be effective and safe for MDD and bipolar manic episode, but it was not effective in treating schizophrenia.

Obesity increases the risk of depression in children and adolescents: Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Clinical depression (including major depression, dysthymia, and unspecified depression) is common in children and adolescents with obesity and overweight. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine prevalence of clinical depression among overweight and obese children.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane library, and PsycINFO databases were systematically and independently searched by three researchers from the inception dates to April 01, 2019. The fixed-effects model was used to perform meta-analysis. Data analyses were performed with STATA Version 12.0.

RESULTS

Eleven studies with 69,893 subjects were included; 5 studies examined major depressive disorder (MDD), while the remaining 6 studies examined other types of clinical depression. In the overweight and obese group, the prevalence of clinical depression ranged from 1.7% to 26.7% in obese subjects and from 4.0% to 16.9% in overweight subjects. In studies on MDD, prevalence ranged from 10.1% to 26.7% in obese subjects and from 9.0% to 16.9% in overweight subjects. The odd ratios (ORs) of clinical depression ranged from 0.92 to 4.39 between obese subjects and healthy controls (i.e., normal-weight controls), and ranged from 0.96 to 1.67 between overweight subjects and controls. Compared to healthy controls, obese (OR = 1.851, 95% CI: 1.410-2.429) but not overweight (OR = 1.068, 95% CI: 0.889-1.283) children and adolescents were more likely to have MDD.

CONCLUSION

Obese children and adolescents had a significantly higher risk for MDD compared with healthy controls. Considering the negative health outcomes of depression, regular screening and effective treatments should be implemented for obese children and adolescents.

Improving Mental Health for the Mother-Infant Dyad by Nutrition and the Maternal Gut Microbiome

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) have significant negative impacts on mother and child, yet treatments are limited. Adequate nutrition during the perinatal period is essential to maternal and infant health, including maternal mental health and the child's neurologic and neuropsychiatric development. Nutrition holds promise to improve prevention and treatment of PMAD. The ability to manipulate the gut microbiota composition and structure through host nutrition and to harness the gut microbes for improved individualized nutrition may be an important new direction for prevention and treatment of PMAD, thus improving the mental health of mother and child.

The effects of alcoholic extract of saffron (Crocus satious L.) on mild to moderate comorbid depression-anxiety, sleep quality, and life satisfaction in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

Depression and anxiety are major health problems throughout the world. Metabolic changes in type 2 diabetes mellitus induces and aggravates mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Saffron as a therapeutic herb may attenuate Comorbid Depression- Anxiety (CDA). So, this trial is designed to investigate the effect of saffron alcoholic extract on symptoms of CDA in type 2 diabetic patients.

METHODS

Fifty-four outpatients suffered from mild to moderate CDA diagnosed by using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV), were assessed by Hamilton Depression and anxiety measurements, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The participants of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, single center and randomized trial were randomly assigned to intake 30 mg/day saffron or placebo capsules for 8 weeks.

RESULTS

After the intervention, mild to moderate CDA, anxiety and sleep disturbance, but not depression alone, were relieved significantly in the saffron group (P < 0.05), whereas, the changes were not significant in the placebo group. Anthropometric measures and blood pressure parameters of the patients in either groups did not change significantly (P > 0.05) during the intervention. Moreover, dietary intake and physical activity did not differ during the study in the two groups. Changes in the life satisfaction were not significant.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate the beneficial effect of saffron on the mild to moderate CDA in type 2 diabetic patients.