Are dietary patterns differently associated with differentiated levels of mental health problems?

This robust observational/cross-sectional study (2019) conducted on 2942 employees of one of the biggest Iranian industrial manufacturing companies, Esfahan Steel Company, aimed to classify the workers into subgroups representing varying levels of mental health profile, and to examine its correlation with dietary patterns. After evaluating the study population on psychological distress, anxiety and depression through the use of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the three main dietary patterns “western”, “healthy” and “traditional” were identified. Based on the factor mixture model, the vast majority of the population (91.2%) could be classed as ‘low mental health problems’, and the remaining 259 individuals as ‘high mental health problems’. The results suggested the employees who adhered to a more Western and traditional dietary pattern were more likely to be in the high mental health problems group, while those in the highest tertile of healthy dietary pattern showed lower odds in being classed as having high mental health problems. These findings could urge workplace health promotion policymakers to change their approach in improving mental health, and encourage further research into altering dietary habits and its effect on psychological well-being in employees. [NPID: performance, Iran, psychological distress, anxiety, depression, Western-style diet, WS diet, workplace, health promotion]

Year: 2019

Reference: Heidari Z., Feizi A., Roohafza H, (2019) Are dietary patterns differently associated with differentiated levels of mental health problems? Results from a large cross-sectional study among Iranian manufacturing employees. BMJ Open, 9.