Ketogenic Diet Shows Modest Short-Term Benefits in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Critical Review of New Clinical Trial Evidence

Highlights

In a recently published randomized clinical trial (RCT), researchers investigated the efficacy of a ketogenic diet (KD) for adults suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The primary findings indicate:

• The ketogenic diet group showed a statistically significant reduction in PHQ-9 scores compared to the control group at 6 weeks (mean difference -2.18; P = .05).
• Both the ketogenic diet and the phytochemical-rich control diet led to substantial improvements from baseline, suggesting a strong effect from structured dietary intervention and dietetic support.
• The antidepressant benefits of the ketogenic diet were not sustained at the 12-week follow-up, and no significant differences were found in secondary outcomes such as anxiety, anhedonia, or quality of life.
• The study highlights the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry but calls for caution regarding the clinical magnitude of dietary interventions as a primary treatment for TRD.