Volume 28, Issue 150, August 2024

Impact of meat abstention on mental health. Review of literature

Hanna Behrendt^1♦, Marcin Głód², Kinga Filipek¹, Agata Pisklak¹, Marta Węgrzynek³

¹Międzyleski Specialist Hospital, Bursztynowa 2, 04-749 Warsaw, Poland
²Mazowiecki Szpital Bródnowski Sp. z o.o., Kondratowicza 8, 03-242 Warsaw, Poland
³Marta Węgrzynek, Międzyleski Specialist Hospital, Bursztynowa 2, 04- 749 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Międzyleski Specialist Hospital, Bursztynowa 2, 04-749 Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT

Vegetarianism and veganism are concepts that are growing in popularity nowadays. Simultaneously, the prevalence of mental health disorders, especially depression and anxiety disorders, is rapidly increasing. While meat abstention has numerous health benefits, i.e. lowers the risk of civilization diseases and mortality from cancer, its impact on mental health is controversial. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the association between plantbased diets and mental health disorders, focusing on depression and anxiety. We searched through the PubMed database and analyzed the results. Meta-analyses show that following a plant-based diet either has no effect on mental health or is associated with higher depression rates; results on anxiety levels among meat abstainers are heterogeneous. The studies published so far are primarily observational and have a lot of limitations. Additionally, we outlined possible explanations of worse mental health among vegetarians, including the impact of vegetarianism on gut microbiota, nutritional deficiencies, but also personality predispositions to depression and anxiety among people deciding to limit meat consumption.

Keywords: Mental health, depression, anxiety, diet, vegetarian, vegan

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e112ms3423

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i150.e112ms3423

Published: 25 August 2024