The study included more than 1,000 overweight or obese people in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain who were at risk for depression, but were not currently depressed.
Excess weight is often linked with depression, the researchers noted.
Half of the study participants took daily supplements containing folic acid, vitamin D, omega-3 fish oils, zinc and selenium. Half took a placebo pill.
Half were also counseled about their eating habits and urged to limit snacking and follow a healthy Mediterranean-style diet.
In a one-year follow-up, the researchers discovered that the supplements worked no better than the placebo in helping ward off depression.
Similarly, the counseling was not effective overall, though it seemed to help prevent depression in participants who attended a recommended number of sessions.
That suggests counseling works only if people get an adequate "dose" of therapy and make significant changes in their diet, according to the study published March 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Because depression is such a common problem, finding effective and widely available ways to prevent depression at a population level is an important goal," said study co-author Ed Watkins.
He's a professor of experimental and applied clinical psychology at the University of Exeter in England.
"Diet and nutrition held promise as one means to reach large numbers of people. However, this trial convincingly demonstrates that nutritional supplements do not help to prevent depression," he said in a university news release.
Excess weight is often linked with depression, the researchers noted.
Half of the study participants took daily supplements containing folic acid, vitamin D, omega-3 fish oils, zinc and selenium. Half took a placebo pill.
Half were also counseled about their eating habits and urged to limit snacking and follow a healthy Mediterranean-style diet.
In a one-year follow-up, the researchers discovered that the supplements worked no better than the placebo in helping ward off depression.
Similarly, the counseling was not effective overall, though it seemed to help prevent depression in participants who attended a recommended number of sessions.
That suggests counseling works only if people get an adequate "dose" of therapy and make significant changes in their diet, according to the study published March 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Because depression is such a common problem, finding effective and widely available ways to prevent depression at a population level is an important goal," said study co-author Ed Watkins.
He's a professor of experimental and applied clinical psychology at the University of Exeter in England.
"Diet and nutrition held promise as one means to reach large numbers of people. However, this trial convincingly demonstrates that nutritional supplements do not help to prevent depression," he said in a university news release.
Children with birth defects may be at increased risk for childhood cancer, a new study finds.
ОтветитьУдалитьResearchers analyzed data from more than 10 million children born in Texas, Arkansas, Michigan and North Carolina between 1992 and 2013.
Compared to children without a birth defect, those with genetic defects were almost 12 times more likely to develop cancer by age 18. Those whose birth defect had no known genetic cause -- also known as non-chromosomal defects -- had more than 2.5 times the risk.
Types of cancer that were more frequent in children with non-chromosomal birth defects included hepatoblastoma, a form of liver cancer, and neuroblastoma, which often starts in the adrenal glands.
Children with more than one non-chromosomal defect had a greater risk of cancer than those with one such defect, according to the study.
Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston led the investigation. It was described as the largest ever to evaluate cancer risk in children with birth defects.
"While cancer risk in children with certain chromosomal defects like Down syndrome is well-established, much less is known for children with birth defects where there is no known genetic cause," said researcher Philip Lupo, an associate professor of pediatrics/hematology-oncology.
"Non-chromosomal defects, as a group, affect more children, but one of the primary challenges of understanding risk among these children is that limited sample sizes make studying specific defects, like spina bifida, more difficult," he said in a college news release.
Postdoctoral associate Jeremy Schraw said the research had two aims.
"Our two key objectives in this study were to identify children who are at an increased risk for cancer, because subsets of these children may one day benefit from screening and better clinical management, and to uncover clues as to why cancer occurs more frequently in this population," Schraw said.
"These findings solidify our understanding of cancer risk in these children and show that we need additional research in this area," he added.
While the study found a strong link between birth defects and cancer risk, Schraw said it's important to remember that both birth defects and childhood cancers are rare.
The next goal is now in focus, researchers said.
"In the future, we hope to identify the specific genes behind these associations and systematically research what happens from the time of birth to the time of cancer onset to also understand if environmental factors may be contributing to cancer development," Lupo said.