The association of major dietary patterns with depression, anxiety and stress in apparently healthy adults

Mental disorders are prevalent worldwide, and can expose people to significant harm. Diet plays an important role in the development and progression of mental illness. Thus, possible associations were investigated between major dietary patterns and depression, anxiety and stress in adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of adult participants (n=265) in Tehran. Anthropometric characteristics were measured, and physical activity was assessed using a short-form physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Dietary patterns were determined using factor analysis on 25 food groups using a valid, reliable, 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The dietary patterns were analyzed by factor analysis (PCA) method. Blood samples were taken for measurement of blood parameters. Data about depression, anxiety and stress were collected using the Depression Anxiety Stress Score (DASS-21). The unhealthy and healthy dietary patterns were extracted. The findings showed that higher adherence to a healthy dietary pattern led to a reduction in the mean depression score (P = 0.03). There were no statistically significant differences between the unhealthy dietary pattern and depression, anxiety and stress scores. In logistic regression models, after adjusting for potential confounders, the results showed that higher adherence to the healthy dietary pattern led to a reduction in anxiety odds ratio (OR) (P = 0.03). There was no statistically significant association between the major dietary patterns with the risk of depression and stress in the crude and adjusted models. The findings from this study indicate that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern led to a reduction in mean depression score and anxiety OR.