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Association of different types of milk with depression and anxiety: A prospective cohort study and Mendelian randomization analysis
The connection between different types of milk and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety is not well understood, with limited evidence from long-term studies. Using data from the UK Biobank cohort (n = 357568), this study by Wu et al. (2024) aimed to investigate this link and find out potential causality using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Over a median follow-up of 13.5 years (interquartile range 12.6–14.2 years), 13,065 participants were diagnosed with depression, and 13,339 with anxiety. Full cream milk was found to be associated with a lower risk of anxiety after controlling for health indicators, lifestyle, and sociodemographic characteristics. A lower incidence of anxiety and sadness was linked to semi-skimmed milk. There was no discernible link between skim milk and anxiety or sadness. Furthermore, a higher depression risk was found with the consumption of other kinds of milk. The findings suggest that consuming semi-skimmed milk may be associated with a reduced risk of depression and anxiety, potentially supporting its inclusion in dietary strategies aimed at improving mental health. [NPID: milk, depression, anxiety, UK biobank, Mendelian randomization]
Year: 2024
