Study finds vegetarians have twice the rate of depression

.

A new study by Bristol University of almost 10,000 men in the south west of England:

Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men

The study full text is paywalled but a Daily Mail article describing the study says this:

Quote:

A study by Bristol University of almost 10,000 men in the south west of England found that those who gave up meat were almost twice as likely to suffer depression as those on a conventional balanced diet. It found the 350 committed vegetarians had a higher average depression score compared to others.

The paper, in the Journal of Affective Disorders, said a veggie diet led to lower intake of vitamin B12 and greater consumption of nuts rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which may be linked with greater risk of mental health problems. The report added: ‘Other potential factors include high blood levels of phytoestrogens – consequent mainly on diets rich in vegetables and soya. Another potential contributing factor is that lower intakes of seafood are thought to be associated with greater risk of depressive symptoms.’ Around one in 20 Britons are committed vegetarians and the majority are women.