- Depression affects a large proportion of the global population, but there are ways to mitigate the risk of this mental health condition.
- Recent evidence builds on the role that elements of diet, physical activity, and certain medications may play in depression risk.
- One study from February 2025, for instance, suggests that people who take glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist medication like Ozempic to treat diabetes have a lower depression risk than peers taking other types of drugs for this metabolic condition.
- Another study from November 2024 indicates that eating oranges and other citrus fruits daily may help reduce depression risk.
- Finally, research from March 2025 indicates that undertaking regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise could help lower the risk for neuropsychiatric diseases, including depression.
Depression affects an
There are several modifiable lifestyle factors — including
Over the past few months alone, researchers have highlighted how dietary choices, exercise, and medication treating other chronic conditions might impact a person’s risk of developing depression.
Depression is linked with a variety of
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in February 2025 compared how different types of diabetes medication may affect depression risk in people with this metabolic condition.
It found that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 drugs) like Ozempic may be linked to lower depression risk compared to other diabetes drugs, particularly dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) like Januvia.
Specifically, study participants taking GLP-1 drugs had a 10% lower risk of depression than participants taking DPP4i medication.
Andres Splenser, MD, an endocrinologist at Memorial Hermann, who was not involved in this study, suggested that the link may have something to do with the relationship between mood and appetite, among other potential factors.
“Mood and appetite,” he explained, “are closely related (think of stressful eating or eating when we are sad, ‘comfort food’), and a benefit of [GLP-1 drugs] is that they help control appetite and satiety, which allows patients to make better meal choices and become healthier.”
“So, the modest improvement in depression seen in the study may be related to weight loss, improved blood sugars, [fewer diabetes] symptoms, and likely an overall sense of patients getting healthier,” Splenser hypothesized.
We already know that diet plays an important role in keeping depression at bay, and a study published in the journal
The study found that people who eat an orange every day may lower their depression risk by as much as 20%.
Raaj Mehta, MD, MPH, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, and lead author of this study, stated in a press release that just “one medium orange a day” may do the trick.
The research, which relied on data from more than 32,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II, further explained that the lowered risk may be due to gut microbiome changes.
Mehta and his colleagues found a link between citrus fruit consumption and an increased presence of 15 different bacterial species in the gut microbiome, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.
Low levels of F. prausnitzii in the gut are linked
Mehta noted in the press release that:
“[T]he effect seems to be specific to citrus. When we look at people’s total fruit or vegetable consumption, or at other individual fruits such as apples or bananas, we don’t see any relationship between intake and risk of depression.”
Last but not least, exercise continues to emerge as an important factor in protecting brain and mental health.
Research due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 77th Annual Meeting in early April 2025 — and which is yet to undergo peer review — has found that moderate-to-vigorous exercise is linked to a lower likelihood of developing a range of neuropsychiatric diseases, including dementia and depression.
Looking at the medical data of more than 73,000 older adults, the researchers who conducted the study concluded that participants who expended more energy on a regular basis through moderate-to-vigorous exercise had a 14%–40% lower risk of dementia, anxiety, depression, stroke, and even sleep disorders, compared to more sedentary peers.
Co-lead author of the study Jia-Yi Wu, MD, a researcher from Huashan Hospital Fudan University in Shanghai, China, told MNT that “unlike genetic predispositions, sedentary behavior is a modifiable risk factor.”
“Our finding underscores the urgent need for behavioral and environmental changes to promote more active lifestyles,” she added.
“Both ‘reducing sedentary behavior’ and ‘increasing physical activity’ [guidelines] are equally important. For office workers, the elderly, and individuals with chronic diseases, reducing sedentary behavior is more feasible and safer than engaging in vigorous intensity physical activity.”
— Jia-Yi Wu, MD
Speaking to MNT, David Merrill, MD, PhD, a board certified geriatric psychiatrist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Singleton Endowed Chair in Integrative Brain Health, who was not involved in this study, emphasized that “the fact that even moderate levels of physical activity are linked to a lower risk of multiple neuropsychiatric conditions, from dementia to depression, highlights just how powerful movement is for protecting the brain.”
