Unhealthy fats may lead to depression

Consumption of trans-fats and saturated fats may boost the risk of  depression, but olive oil protects against this mental disorder, according to a new study by researchers of the Universities of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Depression can adversely affect the course and outcome of common chronic conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Depression also can result in frequent work absenteeism, short-term disability, and decreased productivity.

The researchers recruited 12,059 volunteers who has never suffered depression before and analyzed their data of lifestyle, diet and ailment, for six years.

The results showed 657 cases of depression were found and up to a 48 percent higher in the risk of developing depression among participants who consumed trans-fats than those who did not consume these fats.

The experts said the more trans-fats were consumed, the greater the harmful effect they produced in the volunteers.

And even though the amounts of intake are small, the harmful effect could become great.

The researchers found the risk of suffering depression would increase as much as 50 percent, even though the volunteers consumed just 0.4 percent of trans-fats.

In addition, the researchers also investigated the influence of healthy fats (polyunsaturated fats) and olive oil on the recurrence of depression.

The results showed both healthy fats and olive oil were associated with a lower risk of suffering depression.

The mental illness has increased in recent years and there are 150 million people worldwide suffering from it, according to the experts.

Particularly, the study indicates depression and cardiovascular share similar mechanisms in their origin, since they are influenced in a similar manner by diet.

There are effective treatments for depression, including antidepressant medications and talk therapy.

Stephen Lau and editing by Aimee Keenan-Greene