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Can Following Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diets Reduce the Risk of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study on Iranian Women

Behzad Zamani, Mobina Zeinalabedini, Ensieh Nasli Esfahani, L. Azadbakht

Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2023

435 participants · 11 citations

Abstract

Background Psychiatric disorders have been a challenge for public health and will bring economic problems to individuals and healthcare systems in the future. One of the important factors that could affect these disorders is diet. Objective In the current study with a cross-sectional design, we investigated the association of Paleolithic and Mediterranean diets with psychological disorders in a sample of adult women. Methods Participants were 435 adult women between 20 and 50 years old that refer to healthcare centers in the south of Tehran, Iran. The diet scores were created by the response to a valid and reliable semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and the psychological profile was determined by response to the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was applied to compute the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results After adjusted for potential confounders, it is evident that participants in the highest Paleolithic diet tertile had lower odds of depression (OR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.37: P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.45: P < 0.001), and stress (OR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.32; P < 0.001) in comparison to the lowest tertile. Furthermore, those in the third tertile of the Mediterranean diet score were at lower risk of depression (OR = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.36; P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.38; P < 0.001), and stress (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.39; P <…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 435 participants or records.

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