Depression, Anxiety, Emotional Eating, and Body Mass Index among Self-Reported Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians: A Cross-Sectional Study in Peruvian Adults.
Nutrients
; 16(11)2024 May 29.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38892596
ABSTRACT
Background:
Vegetarianism is commonly associated with various health benefits. However, the association between this dietary regimen and aspects of mental health remains ambiguous. This study compared the symptoms of depression and anxiety, emotional eating (EmE), and body mass index (BMI) in Peruvian vegetarian and non-vegetarian adults.Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 768 Peruvian adults, of whom 284 (37%) were vegetarians and 484 (63%) were non-vegetarians. The Depression Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-2 (GAD-2), and an EmE questionnaire were applied; additionally, the BMI was calculated. Simple and multiple linear regression and Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to evaluate the association between depression, anxiety, EmE, and BMI with dietary patterns.Results:
The vegetarians (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio [PR] = 0.24, 95% CI 0.16-0.31; p < 0.001) reported more depressive symptoms than the non-vegetarians. This trend persisted for anxiety, with an adjusted PR of 0.17 (95% CI 0.01-0.29; p = 0.012). However, the vegetarians (adjusted PR = -0.38, 95% CI -0.61--0.14; p < 0.001) reported lower EmE scores compared to the non-vegetarians. Likewise, the vegetarians had a lower mean BMI than the non-vegetarians (B = -0.16, 95% CI -0.21--0.08; p < 0.001).Conclusions:
Vegetarian diets are associated with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as lower EmE and BMI scores. Further longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate these associations and determine causality and the underlying mechanisms involved.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety
/
Diet, Vegetarian
/
Body Mass Index
/
Depression
/
Emotions
/
Vegetarians
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Peru
Language:
En
Journal:
Nutrients
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Perú
Country of publication:
Suiza