Habitual dairy consumption is inversely associated with depressive and social anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents aged 7-17 years: Findings from a cross-sectional study in Beijing, China

Jieyu Liu; Manman Chen; Ying Ma; Tao Ma; Di Gao; Yanhui Li; Xinxin Wang; Li Chen; Qi Ma; Yi Zhang; Jun Ma; Zhiyong Zou; Yanhui Dong

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.063

Habitual dairy consumption is inversely associated with depressive and social anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents aged 7-17 years: Findings from a cross-sectional study in Beijing, China

J Affect Disord. 2022 Dec 15:319:309-317. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.063. Epub 2022 Sep 23.

Authors

Jieyu Liu¹, Manman Chen¹, Ying Ma¹, Tao Ma¹, Di Gao², Yanhui Li¹, Xinxin Wang³, Li Chen¹, Qi Ma¹, Yi Zhang¹, Jun Ma¹, Zhiyong Zou⁴, Yanhui Dong⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing 100191, China.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
³ School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, No.1160, Shengli Street, Xingqing District, 750004, China.
⁴ Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: harveyzou2002@bjmu.edu.cn.
⁵ Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: dongyanhui@bjmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36162661
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.063

Abstract

Background: Knowledge remains limited about dairy consumption and childhood depression and social anxiety, which is our purpose.

Methods: A cross-sectional study including children and adolescents aged 7-17 years was conducted in 2020 in Beijing. Depression and social anxiety were assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory and the social anxiety scale for children. Habitual dairy consumption was defined as ≥6 days/week. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were employed to analyze the associations between dairy consumption and depression and social anxiety. Subgroup analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the main results.

Results: A total of 1353 participants were included, with a mean age of 12.06 (SD = 3.10) years old. There were 53.58 % habitual dairy consumers and nearly 11.01 % consumed of ≤1 day/week. The prevalence of depression and social anxiety was 14.04 % and 29.64 %. Compared to participants with less dairy intake, the scores of depression and social anxiety in habitual dairy consumers decreased by 1.725 (95 % CI: -2.939, -0.512) and 1.083 (95 % CI: -1.821, -0.345). Correspondingly, habitual dairy consumption was inversely correlated with depression (OR = 0.602, 95%CI: 0.369-0.982) and social anxiety (OR = 0.622, 95%CI: 0.418-0.923). Such inverse associations were more pronounced in younger participants, those without siblings, with higher parental education and higher consumption of fruits or vegetables.

Limitations: Conclusions about causality remain speculative due to the cross-sectional design.

Conclusions: Habitual dairy consumption is inversely associated with childhood depression and social anxiety. A potential attempt could be implemented when recommending dairy products as an adjuvant therapy for childhood mental disorders.

Keywords: Children and adolescents; Dairy consumption; Depression; Social anxiety.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety / epidemiology
Beijing / epidemiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dairy Products*
Depression* / epidemiology
Humans