Inflammatory Potential of Diet and Depression

Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition examined the relationship between the inflammatory nature of a person’s diet and his or her risk of developing depression [1].

The researchers used the dietary inflammatory index (DII), which determines the potential of a diet to cause an inflammatory response in the body. The DII calculates a total anti-inflammatory score based on the balance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods contained in a person’s diet. For example foods such as vegetables, herbs and spices are ‘anti-inflammatory’, while foods high in sugar and processed ingredients are ‘pro-inflammatory’.

Research has confirmed that chronic, low-grade inflammation is associated with an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms [2], therefore eating a diet that induces an inflammatory response in the body is likely to increase the risk of depression.

In this longitudinal study, almost 6,500 middle-aged women were evaluated for depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression-10 (CESD) scale. The researchers found that 18% of the women had scores greater than or equal to 10 on the scale, indicating some degree of depression.

After completing some statistical analyses, the researchers found that the women with the most anti-inflammatory diet had an approximately 20% lower risk of developing depression compared to the women with the most pro-inflammatory diet.

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References

1. Shivappa N, Schoenaker DA, Hebert JR, Mishra GD. Association between inflammatory potential of diet and risk of depression in middle-aged women: the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Br J Nutr. 2016 Sep;116(6):1077-86.

2. Lopresti AL, Maker GL, Hood SD, Drummond PD. A review of peripheral biomarkers in major depression: the potential of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Jan 3;48:102-11.