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Glycemic index, glycemic load, and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 356–365 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives

Although several studies have investigated the association between dietary Glycemic Index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and depression, results are inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to summarize earlier evidence on the association between dietary GI, GL, and depression.

Subjects/Methods

We searched in PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar to identify related articles published until April 2018. Publications that fulfilled the following criteria were included in the current study: (1) publications with participants aged ≥ 18 years; (2) studies that considered GI or GL as the exposure; (3) studies that considered depression as the main outcome or as one of the outcomes; and (4) publications in which odds ratios (ORs) or mean difference were reported as the effect size. Finally, 11 studies, including 6 cross-sectional studies, 2 cohort studies, and 3 clinical trials were considered for inclusion in the systematic review, and 5 cross-sectional studies, 2 cohort studies, and 2 clinical trials (out of 11 studies included in the systematic review) were included in the meta-analysis. The quality of cross-sectional and cohort studies examined by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the quality of clinical trials examined using Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool. We also assessed the quality of evidence with the GRADE system.

Results

Sample sizes of the included cross-sectional studies ranged from 140 to 87,618 participants, and in total 101,389 participants were included in 6 studies. In total, 85,500 participants were included in 2 cohort studies. Sample sizes of the included clinical trials ranged from 40 to 82 participants, and in total 164 participants were included in three studies. Combining seven effect sizes from five cross-sectional studies, no significant association was observed between dietary GI and odds of depression (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.08; I2 = 80.2%; n = 5). We also failed to find any significant association between dietary GL and odds of depression (OR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.04; I2 = 42%; n = 5). Combining two effects sizes from two cohort studies, there was a significant positive association between dietary GI and depression (HR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.25; I2 = 86.1%, n = 2). In addition, combining two effect sizes from two clinical trials, we found a significant change in depression score after consumption of a high-GL diet (weighted mean difference (WMD): 0.66; 95% CI: 0.28, 1.04; I2 = 0.0%, n = 2).

Conclusions

Summarizing earlier findings, we found no significant association between either dietary GI or GL and odds of depression in cross-sectional studies. However, a significant positive association was observed between dietary GI and depression in cohort studies. In addition, a significant effect of a high-GL diet consumption on risk of depression was seen in clinical trials.

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Acknowledgements

The project was financially supported by a joint collaboration of Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Author contributions:

ASM and PS contributed to the conception, design, search, statistical analyses, data interpretation, and manuscript drafting. BL contributed to the conception, design, and data interpretation. AE contributed to the conception, design, statistical analyses, data interpretation, and manuscript drafting. AE supervised the study. All authors approved the final manuscript prior to submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Asma Salari-Moghaddam

  2. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Asma Salari-Moghaddam & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  3. Department of Community Nutrition, Food Security Research Center, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Parvane Saneei

  4. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Bagher Larijani

  5. Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  6. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

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Correspondence to Ahmad Esmaillzadeh.

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Salari-Moghaddam, A., Saneei, P., Larijani, B. et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 356–365 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0258-z

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