Men with vegetarian diets more prone to depression
Vegetarian diets are linked with multiple health benefits, but there has not been a significant amount of research involving their effects on mood. This study showed a link between depression and self identifying as a vegetarian or vegan. The study was performed on 10,000 men, and its conclusions should not be applied to women before more studies are completed. Reverse causation cannot be ruled out.
Caution should be undertaken with a vegetarian diet as nutritional deficiencies of iron and B12 may occur.
The Research
J Affect Disord. 2018 Jan 1;225:13-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.051. Epub 2017 Jul 28.
Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men.
Hibbeln JR1, Northstone K2, Evans J2, Golding J2.
1 Section on Nutritional Neurosciences, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Rockville, MD, USA. Electronic address: jhibbeln@mail.nih.gov.
2 School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Vegetarian diets are associate with cardiovascular and other health benefits, but little is known about mental health benefits or risks.
AIMS:
To determine whether self-identification of vegetarian dietary habits is associated with significant depressive symptoms in men.
METHOD:
Self-report data from 9668 adult male partners of pregnant women in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) included identification as vegetarian or vegan, dietary frequency data and the Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale (EPDS). Continuous and binary outcomes were assessed using multiple linear and logistic regression taking account of potential confounding variables including: age, marital status, employment status, housing tenure, number of children in the household, religion, family history of depression previous childhood psychiatric contact, cigarette and alcohol consumption.
RESULTS:
Vegetarians [n = 350 (3.6% of sample)], had higher depression scores on average than non-vegetarians (mean difference 0.96 points [95%CI + 0.53, + 1.40]) and a greater risk for EPDS scores above 10 (adjusted OR = 1.67 [95% CI: 1.14,2.44]) than non-vegetarians after adjustment for potential confounding factors.
CONCLUSIONS:
Vegetarian men have more depressive symptoms after adjustment for socio-demographic factors. Nutritional deficiencies (e.g. in cobalamin or iron) are a possible explanation for these findings, however reverse causation cannot be ruled out.
