- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Spain
- Switzerland
I'm listed as one of the "Delphi expert panel members" - but I am not involved anymore currently.
I just saw that a recent abstract (poster?) was published (September 2025) on depression. I copied and pasted it below:
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Background/Objectives: Diet influences mental health, but few studies compare vegans and omnivores. Using data from the VEGANScreener study, we assessed psychological well-being and depression in vegans from five European countries, compared to omnivores, and analyzed the relationship between diet quality and mental health.
Background/Objectives: Diet influences mental health, but few studies compare vegans and omnivores. Using data from the VEGANScreener study, we assessed psychological well-being and depression in vegans from five European countries, compared to omnivores, and analyzed the relationship between diet quality and mental health.
Methods: The VEGANScreener study is a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted in Europe. Adults aged 18 to 65 were included. Psychological well-being was assessed using two scales: the Flourishing Measure and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Diet quality was evaluated using the validated VEGANScreener questionnaire, which estimates the quality of the vegan diet. Participants were categorized into tertiles of diet quality. We used age- and multivariable adjusted linear logistics regression models to calculate beta-estimates and odds ratios (ORs), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: A total of 246 participants (185 vegans and 61 omnivores) from Germany, Spain, and Switzerland were included in the final analysis. In multivariable-adjusted analysis, vegans exhibited 80% lower odds of mild or greater depression compared to omnivores [OR: 0.20 (95%CI: 0.45 to 0.89)]. Vegans with higher diet quality also scored lower on the BDI-II compared to omnivores (betaestimate -2.68; 95%CI, -4.57 to -0.76). Participants in the highest tertile of the VEGANScreener (healthier diet) had 85% lower odds of mild or greater depression compared to those in the lowest tertile (less healthy diet) (OR 0.15; 95%CI, 0.03 to 0.70). Participants with higher VEGANScreener scores had lower BDI-II scores compared to those with lower scores(beta-estimate -2.77; 95%CI, -4.79 to -0.76).Vegans reported greater happiness and life satisfaction (beta-estimate 0.56; 95%CI, 0.09 to 1.03) and better overall mental and physical health (beta-estimate 0.62; 95%CI, 0.17 to 1.10) compared to omnivores. Participants in the highest tertile of the VEGANScreener (healthier diet) showed better physical and mental health compared to those in the lowest tertile (beta-estimate 0.61; 95%CI, 0.13 to 1.09).No significant associations were found in other domains of the Flourishing Index.
Conclusions/Recommendations: In this European study, being vegan, and especially when adhering to higher quality vegan diet, correlated with better mental health outcomes, compared to omnivores.
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Results should be seen in context. Some studies have shown higher or lower risk of depression in vegans. This risk is very likely strongly influenced by genetics, nutrient deficiencies (such as vitamin B12 deficiency), world views, non-dietary lifestyle choices, and general healthfulness of the diet ... rather than a vegan/non-vegan difference per se.
As this is only an abstract, it will probably not show up on PubMed.
See previous publications here on PubMed.