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Lipids and Depression

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Nutrients, Stress, and Medical Disorders

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

Depression is a cause of increasing concern worldwide. During the 20th century, striking changes occurred in the epidemiology of major depression, including a marked increase in lifetime risk (Cross-National Collaborative Group, 1992) and a decreased age of onset (Klerman, 1988; Klerman & Weissman, 1988). This has coincided with well-documented similarly striking changes in dietary fatty acid intake, particularly in the western world, including a move to more highly saturated fats than polyunsaturated fats and, within the polyunsaturated fat intake, a move away from n-3 fatty acids to n-6 fatty acids (particularly linoleic acid) (Eaton & Kanner, 1985; Lands, 1992).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lipid Neuroscience Group, MRI Unit, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, University of London, London, UK

    Basant K. Puri

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  1. Basant K. Puri
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, and The Gonda Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Shlomo Yehuda PhD

  2. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA

    David I. Mostofsky PhD

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Puri, B.K. (2006). Lipids and Depression. In: Yehuda, S., Mostofsky, D.I. (eds) Nutrients, Stress, and Medical Disorders. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-952-4:221

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