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Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is inversely associated with anxiety and stress but not depression: A cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older Australians
The quality of one’s diet may significantly impact mental health, but research findings on this topic concerning older adults, have been inconsistent. In this study, Allcock et al. (2024) looked at the independent relationships between the degree of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in older Australian elderly people who follow the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). A cross-sectional analysis was carried out by the authors with participants who were 60 years of age or older (final n = 294, average age = 70.4 ± 6.2 years). Analysis of the results showed that following a MedDiet was linked to less severe anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for age, gender, BMI, physical activity, sleep hygiene, cognitive risk, and capacity for day-to-day tasks (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale [DASS-21] scores). On the other hand, the authors found no connection of any kind between depression symptoms and MedDiet fidelity (fidelity assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener [MEDAS]). The authors demonstrate the improvement in older individuals’ anxiety and stress symptoms with adherence to a Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet). Further exploration of these findings through longitudinal analyses and robust clinical trials is necessary to understand these relationships in this population group. [NPID: Mediterranean diet, depression, aging, mental health, stress, anxiety]
Year: 2024
