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Review
. 2022 May 28;41(1):24.
doi: 10.1186/s41043-022-00303-z.

Dietary inflammatory potential and the incidence of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis

Xiaoling Li  1 , Meicui Chen  1 , Zhicui Yao  1 , Tianfeng Zhang  1 , Zengning Li  2
Affiliations
Review

Dietary inflammatory potential and the incidence of depression and anxiety: a meta-analysis

Xiaoling Li et al. J Health Popul Nutr. .

Abstract

The potential modifiable role of diet in common psychological disorders, including depression and anxiety, has attracted growing interest. Diet may influence the occurrence of mental disorders through its inflammatory characteristics. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore whether dietary inflammatory potential is associated with the risk of depression and anxiety. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases up to February 2021. Articles related to dietary inflammatory potential and risk of depression or anxiety were included. After the elimination of repetitive and irrelevant literature, we conducted quality assessment, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis. In total, 17 studies with a total of 157,409 participants were included in the final analysis. Compared with the lowest inflammatory diet group, the highest group was significantly associated with the incidence of depression and anxiety, with the following pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs): 1.45 (1.30 ~ 1.62) for depression and 1.66 (1.41 ~ 1.96) for anxiety. A subgroup analysis by gender showed that this association was more prominent in women. For depression, the increased risk was 49% in women (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.28 ~ 1.74) and 27% in men (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.06 ~ 1.52). As for anxiety, the increased risk was 80% in women (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.30 ~ 2.49) and 47% in men (OR 1.53, 95% CI 0.81 ~ 2.89). As a result, long-term anti-inflammatory eating patterns may prevent depression and anxiety, whereas pro-inflammatory eating patterns may promote these conditions. People should add more fish, fish oil, fresh fruit, walnuts, and brown rice to their diet.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Dietary inflammatory potential; Psychological health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart demonstrating the search strategy for the meta-analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Random-effects meta-analysis and forest plot for the association between a pro-inflammatory diet and depression. Results are also subgrouped by sex-specific populations
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Random-effects meta-analysis and forest plot for the association between a pro-inflammatory diet and anxiety. Results are also subgrouped by sex-specific populations
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Funnel plot for the included study populations for the association between a pro-inflammatory diet with depression (A) and anxiety (B)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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