Diet and mental health in the Arctic: is diet an important risk factor for mental health in circumpolar peoples? - a review

Abstract

Background. The people living in Arctic and Subarctic environments have adapted to cold temperatures, short growing seasons, and low precipitation, but their traditional ways are now changing due to increased contact with Western society. The rapid alteration of circumpolar cultures has led to generational changes in diet from traditional foods to the processed groceries common in modern stores. Objectives. Develop a link between changing traditional diets and mental health that may have substantial consequences for circumpolar peoples. Methods. Review of English language literature pertaining to the northern circumpolar environments of the world that consist of the Arctic and Subarctic areas. Electronic resources such as ISI Web of Science and PubMed were utilized, using keywords such as arctic, circumpolar, diet, omega-3 fatty acids, mental health, seasonal affective disorder, and suicide. In addition, we used the cited references of obtained articles and the extensive University of Alaska Fairbanks library collections to identify additional publications that were not available from the electronic resources. The years covered were not restricted to any particular period, although 83% of the sources were published in the last 16 years. Conclusion. The change in traditional diets has already led to increased health problems, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, while the mental health of circumpolar peoples has also declined substantially during the same time period. The decline in mental health is characterized by increased rates of depression, seasonal affective disorder, anxiety, and suicide, that now often occur at higher rates than in lower-latitude populations. Studies in non-circumpolar peoples have shown that diet can have profound effects on neuronal and brain development, function, and health. Therefore, we hypothesize that diet is an important risk factor for mental health in circumpolar peoples.

Diet quality is directly associated with quality of life in breast cancer survivors

“…A few studies have reported that change in diet may be associated with quality of life. A review study by McGrath-Hanna et al [27] suggested that the change from traditional to western diet is negatively associated with mental health of circumpolar peoples. Corle et al [5] found that subjects who changed to a low-fat, highfiber, high-fruit and vegetable diet reported significantly higher domains for health belief, health action, and selfcare after 1 year than did controls.…”

Microstructural effects of Ramadan fasting on the brain: a diffusion tensor imaging study

“…Diet is essential for maintaining general health and is particularly important for the brain, as it requires a steady supply of energy (11)(12). A number of studies on the lack of energy as a consequence of fasting consistently showed a decline in attention and cognitive functions and an increase in fatigue, headaches, and irritability (13)(14)(15).…”

Arctic Peoples and Beyond: research opportunities in neuroscience and behaviour

“…The rates of suicide and alcoholism are also very high in Alaska and the Arctic (12,17,19,20,21). Again, both epigenetic and potential genetic risk factors need to be identified and the lack of epidemiological studies has been a major barrier.…”

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