Background: Banana contains many kinds of substances that are beneficial to depressive symptoms. However, there are no epidemiological researches directly to explore the association between banana consumption and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate whether the banana consumption is related to depressive symptoms in a general adult population.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 24,673 adults in Tianjin. Banana consumption was evaluated via a validated food frequency questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed by using Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). The association between banana consumption and depressive symptoms was analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 16.1% in males and 18.4% in females (SDS ≥ 45), respectively. In males, comparing to the reference group (almost never), the multivariable adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals) of depressive symptoms across banana consumption were 0.86 (0.74, 0.99) for <1 time/week, 0.76 (0.66, 0.88) for 1-3 times/week and 0.97 (0.82, 1.16) for ≥4 times/week. By contrast, the multivariable adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals) were 1.11 (0.94, 1.32) for <1 time/week, 0.99 (0.85, 1.16) for 1-3 times/week and 1.22 (1.02, 1.46) for ≥4 times/week in females. Similar association was observed when other cut-offs (SDS ≥ 48 and 50) were used to define depressive symptoms.
Limitation: This is a cross-sectional study, causality remains unknown.
Conclusion: Findings from this study suggested a negative association between moderate banana consumption and depressive symptoms in males. In females, high banana consumption is positively related to depressive symptoms.
Keywords: Banana consumption; Cross-sectional study; Depressive symptoms; Males and females.
Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.