ReviewBJPsych open2023
Efficacy of low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets in treating mood and anxiety disorders: systematic review and implications for clinical practice.
Review in BJPsych open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06091163 (A Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Mechanisms of a Ketogenic Diet as an Adjunctive Treatment for People With Treatment-resistant Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Mechanisms of a Ketogenic Diet as an Adjunctive Treatment for People With Treatment-resistant Depression
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Intermittent Fasting as a Potential Therapeutic Instrument for Major Depression Disorder: A Systematic Review of Clinical and Preclinical Studies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of ketogenic diet on the frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES): A feasibility randomized pilot study.Epilepsia open · 2025Trial
- The ketogenic diet is not for everyone: contraindications, side effects, and drug interactions.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Influence of Ketogenic Diet Lipid Composition on Anxiety-Like Behavior and Neurometabolic Profile in Healthy Rats.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Symptom impact and safety of ketogenic therapy in adults with anorexia nervosa: a feasibility trial.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Intranasal administration in modulating depressive-like behavior and reconstructing treatment paradigms through neuroinflammation and neurotrophic pathways.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic Analysis of the Amygdala in Subjects with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder Reveals Differentially Altered Metabolic Pathways.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Critical appraisal of a pilot study examining a ketogenic diet as an adjunct therapy in college students with major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Enhancing readiness for exposure and response prevention in obsessive compulsive disorder: ketogenic metabolic therapy as a candidate readiness adjunct.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Dietary restriction as a potential neuroprotective intervention: a narrative review of its impact on neuroinflammation across neurodegenerative diseases and other neurological disorders.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Hypomanic symptoms and first manic episode during ketogenic diet treatment in a patient taking venlafaxine: a case report with longitudinal glucose-ketone index and clinical monitoring.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Therapeutic potential and mechanisms of rehabilitation interventions in preventing cancer metastasis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Ketogenic therapy as a potential novel treatment approach for PTSD: an integrative review and proposed mechanistic model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- The role of psychiatric nurses in nutritional care for treatment-resistant depression: a relapse-prevention perspective.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Diet and Mental Health Relationships in Caribbean Populations: A Scoping Review and Evidence Gap Map.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Quality of Life in Parkinson Disease: An Integrative Review.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Providing alternative fuel for the brain in anorexia nervosa: a review of the literature on ketones and their effects on metabolism and the brain.Translational psychiatry · 2025Review
- Review
- Effects of Dietary Interventions on Cognitive Outcomes.Nutrients · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is mounting interest in the potential efficacy of low carbohydrate and very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets in various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
aimsTo conduct a systematic review and narrative synthesis of low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets (LC/KD) in adults with mood and anxiety disorders.
methodMEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for articles from inception to 6 September 2022. Studies that included adults with any mood or anxiety disorder treated with a low carbohydrate or ketogenic intervention, reporting effects on mood or anxiety symptoms were eligible for inclusion. PROSPERO registration CRD42019116367.
resultsThe search yielded 1377 articles, of which 48 were assessed for full-text eligibility. Twelve heterogeneous studies (stated as ketogenic interventions, albeit with incomplete carbohydrate reporting and measurements of ketosis; diet duration: 2 weeks to 3 years;
conclusionsAlthough there is no high-quality evidence of LC/KD efficacy in mood or anxiety disorders, several uncontrolled studies suggest possible beneficial effects. Robust studies are now needed to demonstrate efficacy, to identify clinical groups who may benefit and whether a ketogenic diet (beyond low carbohydrate) is required and to characterise adverse effects and the risk of relapse after diet discontinuation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.