Our results show a consistent association between an inflammatory diet (measured by the DII) and incident depressive outcomes, which supports the hypothesis that avoiding pro-inflammatory foods in favor to anti-inflammatory diet might contribute to prevent incidence of depression and depressive symptoms.

It is common for large observational studies to collect self-reported dietary data with imperfect instruments such as food frequency questionnaires

there was heterogeneity across studies: most used questionnaires, in particular the CES-D, although differing versions, and some questionnaires were only used in a single study (MFQ [25], BDI [56]). Only a minority of studies examined clinical depression [48, 58, 67, 71, 75, 79], assessed by clinical interview or self-reported physician diagnosis, complemented by the use of anti-depressants.

Systemic inflammation can affect the brain by active transport of cytokines through the brain endothelium or activation of vagal fibers, and also plays a role in the regulation of emotions through mechanisms involving neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and glutamate

The three longitudinal studies [48, 51, 55] show a lower risk of incident depression in the high diet score category compared to low (0.76; 95% CI: 0.57, 1.02), but this association is only borderline significant at the conventional level

The combined estimate from four longitudinal studies [31, 45, 46, 48] shows that people in the highest category of adherence to a Mediterranean diet have lower odds/risk of incident depressive outcomes, with an overall estimate of 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55, 0.82 compared to people with lowest adherence

The neurological pathways potentially affecting depression risk that can be modulated by nutritional intake are related to inflammation, oxidative stress, neuroplasticity, mitochondrial function, and the gut microbiome

the dietary intake of specific nutrients such as n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium have been implicated in brain function

identifying modifiable risk factors to guide intervention strategies to prevent mood disorders and decrease their severity would appear to have value.

Depression, characterized by low mood, loss of interest or pleasure in life, and disturbed sleep or appetite, affects over 300 million people globally [1], which represents a global prevalence of 7% for women and 4% for men [2].

The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the link between diet quality, measured using a range of predefined indices, and depressive outcomes.

Finally, first-generation college students are often viewed from a deficit perspective – that they lack certain education-specific qualitiesCitation101 – and thus the assets of first-generation college students (e.g., persistence, resilience, taking responsibility, emphasis on family and community) are overlooked.

Relatedly, continuing-generation college students may report more mental health concerns due to a greater familiarity with “therapy culture” (i.e. emphasis on emotions and their treatment).Citation98

Reducing mental health concerns surrounding finances is an area that counseling staff could explicitly address with first-generation college students.

Infusing interdependent cultural norms into college campuses (e.g. group work, collaboration, affinity groups, including families into programs) may help improve the mental health of first-generation college students.

Because the first-generation college student population overlaps with a variety of other disadvantaged identities (e.g. female, low-income, older, Black and Hispanic), and that these identities also tend to be associated with higher interdependence, it is difficult to separate out the specific impact of first-generation college student status on mental health from a variety of other factors that also impact mental health (e.g., racism, sexism).

Therefore the findings may not be generalizable to the wider first-generation college student population

he COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these challenges, especially for first-generation college students in terms of financial hardships, food and housing insecurity. First-generation college students also experienced an especially sharp rise in mental health disorders.

resilience may buffer them against mental health concerns.Citation25,Citation92 An emphasis on the need for resiliency may also lessen the reporting of mental health struggles

It was especially surprising that there tended to be no significant differences between first- and continuing-generation students when mental health was assessed generally.

when academic and social contexts conflicted with interdependence, first-generation college students tended to experience heightened mental health concerns

It is neces-sary to acknowledge the social cognitive theory,

The selected studies shared 2 limitations. First, althoughthere are both undergraduate and graduate students in high-er education, studies of college students’ PA focused pri-marily on undergraduate students. It still remains unclearwhy researchers have not widely studied graduate students’PA behaviors.

noted in Healthy People 2010,1 an overwhelmingbody of literature suggests that participation inphysical activity (PA) on a regular basis is 1 of theprimary factors in maintaining sound health in modern soci-ety. However, evidence shows that the contemporary designof working and living environments has significantlyreduced demand for PA.