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Depression and Dyspepsia: An Implication of Islamic Resources

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Abstract

Depression is a common mental disorder and the leading cause of disability in the worldwide. Based on Islamic resources, indigestion and dyspepsia can lead to depression. In modern medicine, though many somatic diseases have been named as possible causes of depression, the effect of gastrointestinal disorders on depression is still an enigma. Therefore, the focus of this study is to explore the available scientific literature of modern medicine in order to find the footprint of effect of indigestion on depression. In this study, related articles were retrieved from PubMed, Ovid, Proquest and Magiran databases by using the Medical Subject Heading keywords “depression,” “psychology,” “dyspepsia” and “gastrointestinal diseases.” In the next step, studies, which are exactly confirm the Islamic viewpoint, were selected from the retrieved articles. Only one prospective study in 2012 has stated that people with functional gastrointestinal disorders and without elevated levels of anxiety and depression at baseline had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression at 12-year follow-up. Based on Islamic viewpoint, indigestion can lead to depression, but this aspect approved by only one 12-year prospective population-based study in our review. It seems that it is necessary to conduct complementary studies investigating this hypothesis.

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Notes

  1. Based on Persian medicine resources, melancholia is considered as a psychotic type of depression.

  2. Indigestion is a common gastrointestinal problem that consists of nausea, vomiting, heartburn, regurgitation and dyspepsia.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Roja Rahimi, Dr. Fattane Hashem-Dabbaghiyan, Dr. Reza Asadi, Dr. Mahsan Tavakkoli-Kakhki and Dr. Seyed Mousalreza Hosseini for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran

    Malihe Motavasselian, Seyyd-Ahamd Saghebi & Mandana Tavakkoli-kakhki

  2. Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK

    Mohammad-Reza Nademi

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  1. Malihe Motavasselian
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  2. Seyyd-Ahamd Saghebi
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  3. Mohammad-Reza Nademi
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  4. Mandana Tavakkoli-kakhki
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Correspondence to Mandana Tavakkoli-kakhki.

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Motavasselian, M., Saghebi, SA., Nademi, MR. et al. Depression and Dyspepsia: An Implication of Islamic Resources. J Relig Health 55, 1864–1868 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0115-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0115-5

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