Association of Western and traditional diets with depression and anxiety in women

Am J Psychiatry. 2010 Mar;167(3):305-11. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09060881. Epub 2010 Jan 4.

Abstract

Objective: Key biological factors that influence the development of depression are modified by diet. This study examined the extent to which the high-prevalence mental disorders are related to habitual diet in 1,046 women ages 20-93 years randomly selected from the population.

Method: A diet quality score was derived from answers to a food frequency questionnaire, and a factor analysis identified habitual dietary patterns. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to measure psychological symptoms, and a structured clinical interview was used to assess current depressive and anxiety disorders.

Results: After adjustments for age, socioeconomic status, education, and health behaviors, a "traditional" dietary pattern characterized by vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and whole grains was associated with lower odds for major depression or dysthymia and for anxiety disorders. A "western" diet of processed or fried foods, refined grains, sugary products, and beer was associated with a higher GHQ-12 score. There was also an inverse association between diet quality score and GHQ-12 score that was not confounded by age, socioeconomic status, education, or other health behaviors.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate an association between habitual diet quality and the high-prevalence mental disorders, although reverse causality and confounding cannot be ruled out as explanations. Further prospective studies are warranted.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology*
  • Australia
  • Chronic Disease
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / epidemiology*
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology*
  • Dysthymic Disorder / epidemiology*
  • Dysthymic Disorder / psychology*
  • Feeding Behavior / classification
  • Feeding Behavior / psychology*
  • Female
  • Food Preferences / classification
  • Food Preferences / psychology
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Nutritional Requirements
  • Personality Inventory
  • Risk Factors
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Young Adult