Scientists from Unisinos (Brazil) found that vegetarians have twice as many depressive episodes as people who eat meat. Research published Journal of Affective Disorders.
In a new study, researchers interviewed 14,216 Brazilians ages 35 to 74. They found that non-meat eaters had twice as many depressive episodes as meat eaters.
The authors of the new study noted that their results showed a correlation, but not a causal relationship. Long-term and large-scale studies are needed to confirm or refute the susceptibility of vegetarians to depression.
However, the new study is consistent with many previous studies examining the link between a vegetarian diet and depression. The most detailed study was done in France in 2018. It not only assessed the status of a vegetarian, vegan, or meat eater, but also examined what foods the study participants consumed. For example, vegetarians who did not eat legumes (such as beans, peas or lentils) were more likely to experience symptoms associated with psychiatric disorders such as depression. This may indicate that depression is not caused by the vegetarian diet alone, but by unhealthy variations of it.