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A modified Mediterranean dietary intervention for adults with major depression: Dietary protocol and feasibility data from the SMILES trial
Opie et al. (2018) outline the development of the prescribed diet [modified Mediterranean diet (ModiMedDiet)] for patients with major depressive disorders (MDDs) that was specifically designed for the SMILES trial [the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) exclusively designed to assess a dietary intervention, conducted by qualified dieticians, for reducing symptoms of depression in adults with clinical depression]. The data presented here marked the extent to which this intervention enhanced diet quality: the significant dietary improvements were found to be associated with changes in depressive symptoms. The SMILES trial recruited 67 community dwellers from Melbourne, Australia, all ages 18 and over, with poor quality diets and MDD. The modified Mediterranean diet (ModiMedDiet) was designed using a combination of existing dietary guidelines and scientific evidence from the emerging field of nutritional psychiatric epidemiology. The intervention in the trial consisted of seven individual nutrition counselling sessions conducted by a qualified dietician, while the control group involved a social support protocol with the same visit schedule and length as the nutritional counselling sessions. Opie et al. (2018) conclude that the modified Mediterranean diet (ModiMedDiet) can be effectively implemented in clinical practice to manage MDD. [NPID: Mediterranean diet, diet quality, depression, major depressive disorder, MDD, SMILES]
Year: 2018
