Psychiatrists and Psychologists

Biography

Biography: Sabrina Mörkl

Abstract

Background: Despite the multifactorial genesis of psychiatric disorders, there is increasing evidence that nutrition not only influences the prevalence, but also the onset and the course of psychiatric disease. Nevertheless, study results show that nutrition is still not taught at medical universities and is not an integral part of undergraduate and graduate medical and psychiatric education.

Aim: This presentation highlights the important role of nutritional psychiatry as an essential pillar of the biopsychosocial treatment model of psychiatric patients. It underlines the importance of teaching nutrition to students of medicine and psychiatry trainees.

Methods: Interactive case vignettes are used to illustrate the role of nutrition in psychiatric and current scientific evidence. The impact of nutrition on the gut microbiome and the gut brain axis influencing our mood and behavior through regulation of neurotransmitters (such as serotonin, GABA and dopamine) is discussed. Further, an easy-to-handle nutritional interview approach for psychiatrists is presented. Secondly, this presentation focuses on dietary interventions for the treatment of depression and translates recent scientific evidence into concrete food prescriptions for patients.

Discussion: An adequate supply of micro- and macronutrients is essential for well-being and may also be a fundamental requirement for the efficacy of psychopharmacological treatment. As knowledge about dietary approaches appears to be as important for psychiatrists as for gastroenterologists and endocrinologists, nutritional psychiatry was implemented as an elective course for students and future psychiatrists at the Medical University of Graz and is an integrative part of our psychoeducational group for inpatients suffering from depression. We hope that this presentation helps to implement nutritional approaches in basic psychiatric care and in the curriculum of medical schools in Europe.