Skipping meals, lack of dairy intake may induce depression in pregnant adolescents

Skipping breakfast and lunch, as well as inadequate dairy intake, appears to increase the prevalence of depressive symptoms in pregnant adolescents, suggests a study.

A total of 344 pregnant adolescents attending prenatal care at a tertiary care centre were included in this cross-sectional study. The authors obtained relevant data using a prevalidated structured questionnaire administered via interview. They also assessed depressive symptomatology using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), with a score of ≥12 indicating a higher risk of depression.

Eating habits were also assessed based on meal omission, activities done while eating, and dietary diversity, comparing these with national recommendations. The authors evaluated food group intake using a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Finally, they used Poisson regression models to explore the independent association between undesirable eating habits, inadequate food group intake, and the presence of depressive symptomatology.

The omission of main meals was significantly associated with the presence of depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥12), particularly breakfast (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.55, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10‒2.19; p=0.013). Likewise, adolescents who skipped lunch had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than those who did not (aPR, 2.02, 95 percent CI, 1.11‒3.68; p=0.022).

For the different food groups analysed, only the insufficient intake of milk and dairy products showed a significant association with the presence of depressive symptoms (aPR, 1.78, 95 percent CI, 1.16‒2.73; p=0.008).

“[D]ue to the study’s design, causality or the direction of the relationship cannot be established, and it cannot be affirmed that modifying the diet will necessarily reduce depression,” the authors said. “Furthermore, the results are not generalizable to all pregnant adolescents, and future research is needed to better understand these associations before developing specific dietary interventions.”