This article lacks credibility because it completely disregards the order of events. It’s most likely that these people were anxious/depressed and THEN decided to pursue a vegetarian diet. That is, longitudinal studies and the meta-analysis itself all indicate that the majority of these mental health problems such as anxiety and depression PRECEDED dietary changes. So the real question is: why do more people with depression and anxiety seek a vegetarian diet? Even Dobersek himself (the author of the study you cite) conjectures that people diagnosed with mental health issues may switch to a plant-based diet to help improve their health; that that they may be more sensitive to animal suffering or more worried about climate change (and therefore more anxious in general); or that they may be more worried (I.e anxious) about their health in general. Once again, these people suffered more from anxiety and depression BEFORE assuming a vegetarian diet. So we don’t know if changing to a vegetarian diet benefited their mental health, worsened it, or didn’t change it. (Also, it’s worth noting to your readers that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association provided the grant money to Dobersek.) Lastly, this study examined people who consider themselves vegetarians, not vegans, which means they have dairy and eggs as a part of their diet (and therefore have access to animal-based iron, B12, etc). Please be careful about publishing inaccurate articles or taking liberties with the results of peer-reviewed studies, because it damages the reputation of all Medium writers.