Dietary Fat Intake and the Risk of Depression: The SUN Project

Emerging evidence relates some nutritional factors to depression risk. However, there is a scarcity of longitudinal assessments on this relationship

Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes : a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

With depression being the psychiatric disorder incurring the largest societal costs in developed countries, there is a need to gather evidence on the role of nutrition in depression, to help develop recommendations and guide future psychiatric health care. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the link between diet quality, measured using a range of predefined indices, and depressive outcomes. Medline, Embase and PsychInfo were searched up to 31st May 2018 for studies that examined adherence to a healthy diet in relation to depressive symptoms or clinical depression. Where possible, estimates were pooled using random effect meta-analysis with stratification by observational study design and dietary score. A total of 20 longitudinal and 21 cross-sectional studies were included. These studies utilized an array of dietary measures, including: different measures of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternative HEI (AHEI), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the Dietary Inflammatory Index. The most compelling evidence was found for the Mediterranean diet and incident depression, with a combined relative risk estimate of highest vs. lowest adherence category from four longitudinal studies of 0.67 (95% CI 0.55-0.82). A lower Dietary Inflammatory Index was also associated with lower depression incidence in four longitudinal studies (relative risk 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63-0.92). There were fewer longitudinal studies using other indices, but they and cross-sectional evidence also suggest an inverse association between healthy diet and depression (e.g., relative risk 0.65; 95% CI 0.50-0.84 for HEI/AHEI). To conclude, adhering to a healthy diet, in particular a traditional Mediterranean diet, or avoiding a pro-inflammatory diet appears to confer some protection against depression in observational studies. This provides a reasonable evidence base to assess the role of dietary interventions to prevent depression.Peer reviewe

Inspiring and Preparing Our Future Leaders: Evaluating the Impact of the Early Career Women’s Leadership Program

Jennifer K Lee,1– 3 Sean Tackett,4,5 Kimberly A Skarupski,2,4,6 Kathy Forbush,7 Barbara Fivush,2,3 Maria Oliva-Hemker,2,3 Rachel B Levine2,4 1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU), Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Office of Faculty, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Pediatrics, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA; 4Department of Medicine, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA; 5Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Data Management Core, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA; 6Bloomberg School of Public Health, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA; 7Human Resources, Office of Talent Management, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USACorrespondence: Jennifer K Lee, Email [email protected]: The number of women in high-level leadership in academic medicine remains disproportionately low. Early career programs may help increase women’s representation in leadership. We evaluated the Early Career Women’s Leadership Program (ECWLP). We hypothesized that participants would rate themselves as having increased confidence in their leadership potential, improved leadership skills, and greater alignment between their goals for well-being and leading after the program. We also explored the participants’ aspirations and confidence around pursuing high-level leadership before and after the program.Methods: We surveyed women physicians and scientists before and after they participated in the 2023 ECWLP, consisting of 11 seminars over six months. We analyzed pre- and post-program data using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. We analyzed answers to open-ended questions with a content analysis approach.Results: 47/51 (92%) participants responded, and 74% answered pre- and post-program questionnaires. Several metrics increased after the program, including women’s confidence in their ability to lead (p< 0.001), negotiate (