Study finds that supplements do not prevent depression

Depression is a problem that many people are dealing with due to various reasons in their respective lives. Dealing with the problem is not so easy after all and is not as easy as taking dietary supplements every day a new study suggests. It was also found that people who took multivitamins every day for a year were just as likely to develop depression as those who took a placebo.

The study was triggered by earlier research that suggested that certain diets and low levels of certain nutrients are linked to a higher risk of depression. Ed Watkins, the study co-author said, “Diet and nutrition held promise as one means to reach large numbers of people” and also potentially lowered the risk of depression. The statement by the co-author added, “However, this trial convincingly demonstrates that nutritional supplements do not help to prevent depression.”

The study saw an involvement of more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. The participants of the study were considered at risk of developing depression as they showed mild depressive symptoms on a survey, but they had not experienced an episode of full-blown depression in the last six months. Apart from that, participants were all overweight or obese which is a group that is also considered to be at a high risk of depression.

On a random basis, the participants were assigned to one of four groups. One of the groups took a multivitamin, a group that took a multivitamin and underwent a behavioral therapy to improve their diet, a group that took placebo and a group that took a placebo and underwent a behavioral therapy. The study tenure was one year and during that tenure 105 participants – which is ten percent – developed depression. The number of participants who developed depression was about the same for every four groups, which meant that the supplements did not work any better than placebos.

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