Assessing the feasibility of an m-Health intervention for changing diet quality and mood in individuals with depression: the My Food & Mood program

Abstract

Recent randomized controlled trials have shown that improving diet quality reduces symptoms in those with depression. The provision of digital health interventions that can support dietary change in those with depression has important benefits with respect to reach, accessibility convenience and cost. The My Food & Mood study used single arm cohort design to test the feasibility of such an intervention. Participants with current depressive symptoms were recruited and enrolled online to use the My Food & Mood m-Health (smartphone delivered) program for 8 weeks. Participants completed depression (PHQ-8) and dietary questionnaires (MEDAS) at baseline, week 4 and week 8. Metrics of use and intensity of use engagement measures were calculated from system logs and data entries. There was a significant change in both MEDAS score (t = 8.147, df = 44, p < 0.001) and PHQ-8 score (t = −7.199, df = 44, p < 0.001) throughout the study. There was a moderate positive association between change in MEDAS score and activities completed, goals and weeks engaged, and a strong inverse association between change in MEDAS score and change in PHQ-8 score. An m-Health program targeting dietary intervention in those with depression was feasible. Dietary change was associated with higher engagement and reduced depressive symptoms.

Keywords:

• Online intervention
• nutritional psychiatry
• depression
• low mood
• dietary intervention
• e-Health
• m-Health
• mental health
• neuroscience
• psychiatry

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the members of the IMPACT Community and Research Network and Blue Voices for their valuable contribution to this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by SEED funding from the IMPACT SRC scheme, Deakin University. CLY is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, HS is supported by an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellowship, AO is supported by a Future Leader Fellowship [No. 101160] from the Heart Foundation, Australia. MB is supported by a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship [APP1059660 and 1156072], FNJ has received: (1) competitive Grant/Research support from the Brain and Behaviour Research Institute, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Rotary Health, the Geelong Medical Research Foundation, the Ian Potter Foundation, The University of Melbourne; (2) industry support for research from Meat and Livestock Australia, Woolworths Limited, the A2 Milk Company, Be Fit Foods; (3) philanthropic support from the Fernwood Foundation, Wilson Foundation, the JTM Foundation, the Serp Hills Foundation, the Roberts Family Foundation, the Waterloo Foundation and; (4) travel support and speakers honoraria from Sanofi-Synthelabo, Janssen Cilag, Servier, Pfizer, Health Ed, Network Nutrition, Angelini Farmaceutica, Eli Lilly and Metagenics. She has written two books on diet and health for commercial publication.

The funding bodies had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results or the writing of this manuscript.