Effectiveness of a Nutritional Awareness Program on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Among Patients with Depression: A Pre-Post Interventional Study at S.M.M.H. Medical College, Saharanpur U.P West.

Abstract

Background: Depression affects over 322 million people globally, yet nutritional interventions remain underutilized despite growing evidence of diet-mental health connections. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a nutritional awareness program on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding diet and mental health among patients with depression.

Methods: A pre-experimental interventional study was conducted at S.M.M.H. Medical College, Saharanpur, among 153 patients with depression (ages 18-70 years) diagnosed using HAM-D criteria. Participants received individualized nutritional counseling (30-45 minutes) covering diet-mental health connections, mood-affecting nutrients, antidepressant foods, and beneficial dietary patterns. KAP scores were assessed using validated questionnaires at baseline and 4-week follow-up. Statistical analysis employed paired t-tests and effect size calculations using SPSS v26.

Results: Participants (mean age 39.0±11.8 years, 49% female, 73.9% rural) showed extremely low baseline knowledge (mean score 1.15±1.2/10) with only 26.8% aware of diet-mental health links. Post-intervention, knowledge scores increased dramatically to 9.2±1.1 (p<0.001, Cohen's d=7.33). Attitude scores improved from 15.8±3.4 to 18.9±1.2 (p<0.001, d=1.14), and practice scores increased from 3.1±1.8 to 7.2±2.3 (p<0.001, d=1.96). Notable improvements included 58.2% achieving adequate fruit/vegetable intake (vs 0% baseline) and 77.1% regularly consuming omega-3 rich foods (vs 5.9% baseline). Strong positive correlations existed between knowledge, attitude, and practice improvements (r=0.58-0.72). Urban residents and patients with milder depression showed greater improvements. The intervention achieved 100% retention with high participant satisfaction.

Conclusions: Structured nutritional awareness programs effectively improve diet-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among depression patients, with large effect sizes across all domains. The high feasibility and substantial behavioral improvements support integrating nutritional education into routine psychiatric care. These findings contribute to the evidence base for nutritional psychiatry as an adjunct to traditional depression treatments.