Youth diet quality and hazard of mood disorder in adolescence and adulthood among an Australian cohort

Impact of emotional intelligence on adherence to the Mediterranean diet in elementary education school students. A structural equation model

Background

Adolescence is one of the stages where a large number of physical, psychological and emotional changes occur, the latter playing a key role in adherence to a healthy dietary pattern. Taking into account the above, this research reflects the objectives of developing an explanatory model of the incidence of attention, clarity and emotional repair on adherence to the Mediterranean diet and to contrast the structural model through a multigroup analysis based on Mediterranean adherence to this dietary pattern.

Methods

To this end, a comparative descriptive cross-sectional study has been carried out with 293 students from the third cycle of primary education. The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the KIDMED test and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24).

Results

Students who show low adherence to the Mediterranean diet have a negative association with the repair of negative emotions. Participants who show a medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet, it is observed that they have a negative relationship with emotional clarity, while students who claim to have a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet show positive relationships with each of the constructs that make up emotional intelligence.

Dietary patterns and internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis

CONTEXT

Studies of child and adolescent internalizing symptoms and dietary pattern have produced mixed results.

OBJECTIVES

To quantify the association between dietary patterns and internalizing symptoms, including depression, in children and adolescents.

DATA SOURCES

Embase, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Science and Cochrane up to March 2021.

STUDY SELECTION

Observational studies and randomized controlled trials with mean age ⩽ 18 years, reporting associations between diet patterns and internalizing symptoms.

DATA EXTRACTION

Mean effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were determined under a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies were cross-sectional, 12 were prospective, and 1 used a case-control design. The total number of participants enrolled ranged from 73,726 to 116,546. Healthy dietary patterns were negatively associated with internalizing (r = -0.07, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [-0.12, 0.06]) and depressive symptoms (r = -0.10, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [-0.18, -0.08]). Effect sizes were larger for studies of healthy dietary patterns and internalizing and depressive symptoms using self-report versus parent-report measures, as well as in cross-sectional studies of healthy dietary patterns and depression compared to prospective studies. Unhealthy dietary patterns were positively associated with internalizing (r = 0.09, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [0.06, 0.14]) and depressive symptoms (r = 0.10, p < 0.01, 95% CI [0.05, 0.17]). Larger effect sizes were observed for studies of unhealthy dietary patterns and internalizing and depressive symptoms using self-report versus parent-report measures.

LIMITATIONS

A lack of studies including clinical samples and/or physician diagnosis, and a paucity of studies in which anxiety symptoms were the primary mental health outcome.

CONCLUSION

Greater depression and internalizing symptoms are associated with greater unhealthy dietary patterns and with lower healthy dietary intake among children and adolescents.

Associations between diet quality and DSM-IV mood disorders during young- to mid-adulthood among an Australian cohort

PURPOSE

Many studies have reported associations between diet and depression, but few have used formal diagnoses of mood disorder as the outcome measure. We examined if overall diet quality was associated cross-sectionally or longitudinally with DSM-IV mood disorders among an adult cohort.

METHODS

Participants from the Australian Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study were followed up during 2004-06 (n = 1974, age 26-36 years), 2009-11 (n = 1480, 31-41 years), and 2014-19 (n = 1191, 36-49 years). Dietary Guidelines Index (DGI) scores were calculated from food frequency questionnaires at each time-point (higher DGI reflects better diet quality). DSM-IV mood disorders (dysthymia or depression) during the periods between, and 12 months prior to each follow-up were determined using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Sex-stratified risk and prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using log-binomial regression. Covariates included age, self-perceived social support index score, marital status, parenting status, education, occupation, physical activity, BMI, and usual sleep duration.

RESULTS

A 10-point higher DGI was cross-sectionally associated with lower prevalence of mood disorders at the third follow-up only (females PR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56, 0.95; males PR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.53, 0.97), but was attenuated after covariate adjustment (females PR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.73, 1.16; males PR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.69, 1.22). Adjustment for social support in the final model had attenuated the association for both sexes from 18% reduced prevalence to 8%. DGI scores were not longitudinally associated with mood disorder risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Crude cross-sectional associations between diet quality and mood disorders at ages 36-49 years were explained by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, particularly social support.

Sociodemographic and cultural determinants of mood disorders

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The present review aims to examine, summarize and update information on the sociodemographic and cultural determinants of mood disorders.

RECENT FINDINGS

Known sociodemographic and cultural determinants continue to be good predictors of the risk of developing a mood disorder over the lifetime. Polygenic risk scores do not appear to offer any advantages over these determinants at present. There is also new and emerging understanding of the role of lifestyle and environmental factors in mediating vulnerability to mood disorder. The influence of ethnicity and migration, on the other hand, is far more complex than initially envisaged.

SUMMARY

Recent evidence on sociodemographic determinants of mood disorders confirms associations derived from existing literature. There is also new and emerging evidence on how quality of sleep, diet and the environment influence risk of mood disorders. Culture and ethnicity, depending on context, may contribute to both vulnerability and resilience. Socioeconomic deprivation may be the final common pathway through which several sociodemographic and cultural determinants of mood disorders act.