NUTRIMIND: Understanding Mental Health and Nutrition in Europe
Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress affect millions of people across Europe and are increasingly recognised as being closely linked to diet, nutrition, social inequalities and broader lifestyle factors. These conditions often start early in life and can continue into older age, with a significant impact not only on individuals and families but also on society through lost productivity and healthcare costs. As a result, there is growing interest in prevention strategies that can improve mental wellbeing throughout life, particularly the role of nutrition as a promising modifiable risk factor in the prevention and management of common mental disorders.
The NUTRIMIND project aims to explore how nutrition, dietary choices, the gut microbiome and lifestyle factors interact with mental health across the lifespan. The project examines these relationships from childhood through older adulthood using data from multiple European population cohorts. Its goal is to improve understanding of these interactions by combining existing data from large-scale cohort analyses, dietary and biomarker data, microbiome and multi-omics approaches, AI-supported modelling and citizen science tools. Through this integrated approach, the project will:
- strengthen the evidence base for prevention-focused approaches to mental health
- support development of practical tools, recommendations and policy guidance
The NUTRIMIND consortium brings together researchers, health experts, data scientists, citizen scientists and stakeholder engagement specialists from 16 organisations across Europe.
Europroject coordinated the successful setting up of the project and supports project implementation by leading the Exploitation, IPR Management, and synergies with other relevant projects, clusters, initiatives and platforms.
