Association of the dietary inflammatory index with depressive symptoms among pre- and post-menopausal women: Findings from the national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) 2005–2010

Approximately 20% of US women experience depression throughout their lifetime. Studies pointed to a relationship between high Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) score and high serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and depression. However, no research was undertaken to demonstrate the links between DII and the various measures of depression (such as somatic and cognitive) in pre- and post-menopausal females. In this study by Azarmanesh et al. (2022), the authors used data from a population of 2,512 pre-menopausal and 2,392 post-menopausal women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2005-2010) database to evaluate the relationship between DII, depression, and CRP levels. Analysis of the data revealed that pre-menopausal women with higher DII scores were more likely to experience depression, while only post-menopausal women in the highest quartiles of DII scores were 110% more likely to experience depression compared to their peers in the lowest quartile. No effects of CRP levels were found on the relationship between DII and the measures of depression. Thus, the authors conclude that the lifestyle habits of participants, such as their diets, could have a stronger impact on mental health among pre-menopausal women than post-menopausal women. [NPID: Dietary inflammatory index (DII), menopause, inflammation, depression, NHANES]

Year: 2022

Reference: Azarmanesh, D., Bertone-Johnson, E. R., Pearlman, J., Liu, Z., & Carbone, E. T. (2022). Association of the Dietary Inflammatory Index with Depressive Symptoms among Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2010. Nutrients, 14(9), 1980. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091980