Egg Consumption and Prevalence of Psychological Disorders in Adults

No previous study has examined the associations between egg consumption and prevalence of psychological disorders. To determine the association between egg consumption and depression in a large sample of Iranian adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3,172 adults in Isfahan, Iran. Egg consumption was assessed by using a validated, self-administrated, dish-based, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The Iranian validated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to screen for anxiety and depression. Also, the Iranian validated version of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) with 12-items was used to assess psychological distress. Depression, anxiety and psychological distress were defined according to the standard criteria. Mean age of study participants was 36.5±7.9. Depression, anxiety and psychological distress were prevalent among 28.4%, 13.6%, and 23% of the study participants, respectively. After controlling for potential confounders, no significant association was observed between egg intake and depression (OR for comparing extreme quartiles: 1.08; 95% CIs: 0.80-1.45) and anxiety (OR: 0.79; 95% CIs: 0.54-1.16), as well as psychological distress (OR: 1.03; 95% CIs: 0.76-1.41) in the whole population. In men, significant positive associations were observed between egg intake and depression before controlling for BMI (OR: 1.68; 95% CIs: 1.01-2.80); however, the associations became non-significant after taking BMI into account (OR: 1.62; 95% CIs: 0.96-2.72). In individuals with higher than median fish intake, egg intake was positively associated withpsychological distress (OR: 2.07; 95% CIs: 1.00-4.28). We found no significant association between egg intake and psychological disorders. Further studies, in particular of prospective design, are warranted.
Conflict of interest: non declared