Research Showcase Abstracts
Explore abstracts from CFDR’s annual research showcase at the DC Conference.
Year
2021
Language
English
Title
Do healthy dietary interventions improve pediatric depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction/Purpose
There exists a limited body of conflicting literature related to pediatric nutritional interventions and depression. Dietary recommendations have been proposed as a way of impacting current and future mental health.
Objective(s)/Process or Summary of Content
This meta-analysis aims to determine the efficacy of child and adolescent dietary interventions on depression.
Method(s)/Systemic Approach Used
Systematic searches in electronic databases and grey literature were conducted. After screening 6,725 citations, 17 studies were included in this systematic review. Quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for Quasi-Experimental Studies. A meta-analysis of Hedges’ g values was calculated using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method. Publication bias was assessed with funnel plots and the Egger’s test.
Results/Conclusions
The results of the meta-analysis of the RCTs (k=7) demonstrated a non-significant effect of dietary interventions (g=0.12 [95%CI: -0.19; 0.87] p =0.374) while the results of the pre-post intervention studies (k=9) demonstrated a small significant effect favoring dietary intervention for reducing depression (g = -0.45[95%CI: -0.64; -0.27] p= 0.001). Publication bias was not detected by Egger’s test or by funnel plot asymmetry.
Conclusions(s)/Recommendations
The current meta-analysis demonstrates that ‘healthy’ dietary interventions among children or adolescents in the community have little impact on non-clinical depression.
Significance to Dietetics
Further confusion will persist until more well-designed studies in pediatric nutritional psychiatry research focusing on depression are conducted.
Funded by
Susan C Campisi is supported in part by the SickKids RestraComp Post-Doctoral Award and by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant number 409491.
