The Relationship of Dietary Intake of Zinc, Selenium, and Magnesium and Anthropometric Profiles with Depression in Female Medical Students at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Depression, as the second leading cause of dysfunction, is one of the most common mental health disorders. Given that micronutrients have always played a significant role in all physical and psychological aspects of individuals. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of dietary intake of Selenium, Magnesium, Zinc, and anthropometric profiles with depression in female students at Zahedan University of Medical Science, Zahedan, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, 200 female medical students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences participated. The amount of dietary intake of Selenium, Magnesium, and Zinc were measured by Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). For determining the depression score, Beck anxiety questionnaire was administered. To analyze the data, SPSS 22 software was used.

The mean of age, body mass index, waist-to hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio were 23.41 ± 2.26 years, 23.54 ± 4.49 kg/m2, 0.85 ± 0.08, and 0.59±0.10, respectively. The mean daily intake of Magnesium, Zinc, and Selenium were 196.37 ± 42.08 mg, 7.38 ± 3.41 mg, and 106.52 ± 31.69 mg, respectively. The mean of depression score was 31.21±10.58. Zinc and Magnesium intake had a significantly strong inverse relationship with depression score and anthropometric indices.

The findings showed that Zinc and Magnesium intake as well as anthropometric indices had a significant inverse relationship with depression score. However, the association between Selenium intake and depression score was not significant