Diets high in fast food, sugar raise depression, anxiety risks in adults
18 hours ago
Regular consumption of fast foods, confectionery, fried potatoes, sauces, sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined grains appears to increase the risks of depression and anxiety in adults, suggests a study.
Data from The Maastricht Study were used in the analysis. A total of 6,967 participants (mean age 59.94 years, 49.40 percent female) were included in analyses for depressive symptoms and 6,634 (mean age 59.94 years, 49.40 percent female) in analyses for anxiety disorder.
Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire, and dietary patters were derived via principal component analysis. Depressive symptoms and anxiety disorder were evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item questionnaire.
The investigators explored the associations through a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and conducted stratified analyses based on the status of diabetes, sex, BMI, and smoking.
Three dietary patterns were identified, namely “high vegetables and legumes,” “high fast food and sugar,” and “vegetarian-like.”
Following the adjustments for potential confounders, adherence to the high fast food and sugar dietary pattern contributed to increased risks of depressive symptoms (hazard ratio [HR], 2.13, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.55‒2.92; p<0.001; ptrend<0.001) and anxiety disorders (HR, 2.01, 95 percent CI, 1.33‒3.10; p=0.001; ptrend<0.001) in the total population. No associations were seen for other diets.
There was a significant interaction noted between the vegetarian-like dietary pattern and smoking status on the risk of anxiety disorder (HR, 0.76, 95 percent CI, 0.64‒0.90; p=0.001). Opposite but nonsignificant associations were also observed among never-smokers (HR, 1.47, 95 percent CI, 0.83‒2.60; p=0.19; ptrend=0.06) and former/current smokers (HR, 0.62, 95 percent CI, 0.37‒1.04; p=0.07; ptrend=0.046).