A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health

Brennan, Anthony; Benton, David; Young, Hayley

doi:10.3390/nu17233677

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A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health

Anthony Brennan

, David Benton, Hayley Young

Nutrients, Volume: 17, Issue: 23, Start page: 3677

Swansea University Authors: Anthony Brennan , David Benton, Hayley Young

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/nu17233677

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability for the onset of mental health difficulties, presenting an urgent need for scalable prevention strategies. Diet is a universal, modifiable factor, yet its evidence base remains inconsistent. This systematic review synthesised e...

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Published in:	Nutrients
ISSN:	2072-6643
Published:	MDPI AG 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71116

first_indexed	2025-12-08T15:37:57Z
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Diet is a universal, modifiable factor, yet its evidence base remains inconsistent. This systematic review synthesised evidence from controlled trials and prospective cohort studies investigating the relationship between diet and mental health in adolescents aged 10–19 years. Methods: Searches were conducted to 20 July 2025, and risk of bias was assessed. Results: Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria: six intervention trials and thirteen cohort studies. Examined exposures included vitamin D, omega-3s, polyphenol-rich foods, Mediterranean-style diets, and overall diet quality. Depressive symptoms were the most studied outcome, though the synthesis also included other dimensional outcomes such as anxiety, stress, well-being, and internalising/externalising indices. Across designs, healthier dietary patterns were often associated with fewer depressive symptoms, while poorer diet quality was linked to increased psychological distress. However, the current evidence is constrained by wide variation in assessments, small samples, and significant methodological limitations—particularly with high risk or some concerns noted in half of the included intervention trials—along with evidence suggesting that associations may differ by sex and are often sensitive to adjustment for socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Despite these challenges, the findings suggest diet as a possible, actionable target for supporting adolescent mental health. This review concludes by proposing a detailed roadmap for future research, prioritising harmonised symptom-based outcomes, biomarker-verified assessments, explicit analysis of sex and socioeconomic (SES) effects, and adequately powered trials to inform effective public health strategies for youth. 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spelling	2025-12-08T15:40:43.1867595 v2 71116 2025-12-08 A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health c95545e4de40c0bef53dbfaf69fb19de 0000-0001-6084-4086 Anthony Brennan Anthony Brennan true false 7845ee79286c74b7939198c94e9e16ff David Benton David Benton true false 22748f1a953255d63cb6ab9a98c11d70 0000-0002-6954-3519 Hayley Young Hayley Young true false 2025-12-08 PSYS Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability for the onset of mental health difficulties, presenting an urgent need for scalable prevention strategies. Diet is a universal, modifiable factor, yet its evidence base remains inconsistent. This systematic review synthesised evidence from controlled trials and prospective cohort studies investigating the relationship between diet and mental health in adolescents aged 10–19 years. Methods: Searches were conducted to 20 July 2025, and risk of bias was assessed. Results: Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria: six intervention trials and thirteen cohort studies. Examined exposures included vitamin D, omega-3s, polyphenol-rich foods, Mediterranean-style diets, and overall diet quality. Depressive symptoms were the most studied outcome, though the synthesis also included other dimensional outcomes such as anxiety, stress, well-being, and internalising/externalising indices. Across designs, healthier dietary patterns were often associated with fewer depressive symptoms, while poorer diet quality was linked to increased psychological distress. However, the current evidence is constrained by wide variation in assessments, small samples, and significant methodological limitations—particularly with high risk or some concerns noted in half of the included intervention trials—along with evidence suggesting that associations may differ by sex and are often sensitive to adjustment for socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Despite these challenges, the findings suggest diet as a possible, actionable target for supporting adolescent mental health. This review concludes by proposing a detailed roadmap for future research, prioritising harmonised symptom-based outcomes, biomarker-verified assessments, explicit analysis of sex and socioeconomic (SES) effects, and adequately powered trials to inform effective public health strategies for youth. Protocols were registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023413970) and archived on the Open Science Framework. Journal Article Nutrients 17 23 3677 MDPI AG 2072-6643 adolescents; mental health; depression; anxiety; diet quality; dietary patterns; micronutrients; systematic review 24 11 2025 2025-11-24 10.3390/nu17233677 Systematic Review COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University Other Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) Grant: IAFNS-SWANSEAU-20230111 2025-12-08T15:40:43.1867595 2025-12-08T15:28:48.9669802 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Anthony Brennan 0000-0001-6084-4086 1 David Benton 2 Hayley Young 0000-0002-6954-3519 3 71116__35790__22a7ad592e754321a1ac6ea774b71da6.pdf nutrients-17-03677-v2.pdf 2025-12-08T15:28:48.9515775 Output 822255 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
spellingShingle	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health Anthony Brennan David Benton Hayley Young
title_short	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
title_full	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
title_fullStr	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
title_full_unstemmed	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
title_sort	A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health
author_id_str_mv	c95545e4de40c0bef53dbfaf69fb19de 7845ee79286c74b7939198c94e9e16ff 22748f1a953255d63cb6ab9a98c11d70
author_id_fullname_str_mv	c95545e4de40c0bef53dbfaf69fb19de_*_Anthony Brennan 7845ee79286c74b7939198c94e9e16ff__David Benton 22748f1a953255d63cb6ab9a98c11d70_**_Hayley Young
author	Anthony Brennan David Benton Hayley Young
author2	Anthony Brennan David Benton Hayley Young
format	Journal article
container_title	Nutrients
container_volume	17
container_issue	23
container_start_page	3677
publishDate	2025
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doi_str_mv	10.3390/nu17233677
publisher	MDPI AG
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description	Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a critical period of vulnerability for the onset of mental health difficulties, presenting an urgent need for scalable prevention strategies. Diet is a universal, modifiable factor, yet its evidence base remains inconsistent. This systematic review synthesised evidence from controlled trials and prospective cohort studies investigating the relationship between diet and mental health in adolescents aged 10–19 years. Methods: Searches were conducted to 20 July 2025, and risk of bias was assessed. Results: Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria: six intervention trials and thirteen cohort studies. Examined exposures included vitamin D, omega-3s, polyphenol-rich foods, Mediterranean-style diets, and overall diet quality. Depressive symptoms were the most studied outcome, though the synthesis also included other dimensional outcomes such as anxiety, stress, well-being, and internalising/externalising indices. Across designs, healthier dietary patterns were often associated with fewer depressive symptoms, while poorer diet quality was linked to increased psychological distress. However, the current evidence is constrained by wide variation in assessments, small samples, and significant methodological limitations—particularly with high risk or some concerns noted in half of the included intervention trials—along with evidence suggesting that associations may differ by sex and are often sensitive to adjustment for socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Despite these challenges, the findings suggest diet as a possible, actionable target for supporting adolescent mental health. This review concludes by proposing a detailed roadmap for future research, prioritising harmonised symptom-based outcomes, biomarker-verified assessments, explicit analysis of sex and socioeconomic (SES) effects, and adequately powered trials to inform effective public health strategies for youth. Protocols were registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023413970) and archived on the Open Science Framework.
published_date	2025-11-24T05:32:21Z
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A Recipe for Resilience: A Systematic Review of Diet and Adolescent Mental Health

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