Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes

Re:Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes by im3w1l on Sunday September 25, 2022 @09:12AM (#32970984)

Interesting but being purely correlational is a big limitation. It seems quite plausible that people that worry and feel depressed about climate change and animal welfare would choose to go vegetarian. The diet making people depressed is quite plausible too.

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Re:Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes by iinnPP on Sunday September 25, 2022 @09:21AM (#32971066)

I was thinking the same thing.

As a former vegan(not vegetarian), the lifestyle was the result of distrust in other foods. Everything had to be organic, unprocessed, and free of all animal products.

It also became difficult to continue eating out with friends and family. Our family holidays became difficult. Both of which can lead to depression.

The diet is also not simple. There are rules involved in getting the consumed nutrients into your body effectively. A prime example being vitamin C and iron.

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Re:Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes by bowsamic on Sunday September 25, 2022 @09:20AM (#32971058)

I'm interested in knowing what kind of data analysis technique you have that goes beyond "purely correlational"

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Re:Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes by im3w1l on Sunday September 25, 2022 @08:58PM (#32978170)

The standard way is to do an intervention: either tell meat eaters to stop eating meat or tell vegetarians to start. Then compare with a control group. In medicine it's also advisable to use double-blinding.

I'm not suggesting the authors made a mistake or anything. An association study is a good cheap starting point to see whether a closer look is warranted.

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