Dietary acid load and its association with psychological disorders, sleep quality, and mood among Iranian older adults: A cross-sectional study

Dietary acid load and psychological disorders : Exploring association

The rapid increase in the global elderly population poses significant mental health challenges. This study aims to elucidate the associations of dietary acid load with psychological disorders, sleep quality, and mood among Iranian older adults, utilizing a sample of 398 individuals. Dietary habits were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and dietary acid load was estimated through three established indices: potential renal acid load (PRAL), net endogenous acid production (NEAP), and dietary acid load (DAL). Mental health status was evaluated using the Iranian version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), while sleep quality and mood were assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS), respectively. In fully adjusted models controlling for demographic, dietary, and lifestyle variables, individuals in the highest tertile of the DAL index exhibited significantly greater levels of stress compared to those in the lowest tertile (OR: 3.06, 95% CI = 1.43–6.57, p = 0.003). Additionally, elevated PRAL values were linked to increased depressive symptoms (OR: 2.18, 95% CI = 1.04–4.58, p = 0.032). Higher levels of all three dietary acid load indices were significantly associated with poorer sleep quality (p 0.05). The findings suggest that elderly individuals with elevated PRAL and DAL values showed increased symptoms of depression and stress, respectively, alongside poorer sleep quality. The study highlights the need for prospective studies and clinical trials to validate these relationships and explore underlying mechanisms.

Year: 2025

Reference: Mahjourian, M. M., Abbasi, H., Hanjani, N. A., et al. (2025). Dietary acid load and its association with psychological disorders, sleep quality, and mood among Iranian older adults: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 25, 2891. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24249-z

Related Studies

The Southern European Atlantic diet and depression risk: a European multicohort study.

The typical dietary pattern of northern Portugal and northwest Spain is known as the Southern European Atlantic diet (SEAD, composed of cod and other fresh seafood, pork, red meat, dairy, whole-grain bread, legumes, vegetables, vegetable soup, and wine in moderation); however, it may also be similar to other European nations. It has been shown that […]

The global burden of disease attributable to low consumption of fruit and vegetables: implications for the global strategy on diet

The global burden of disease attributable to low consumption of fruit and vegetables: Suboptimal intake of fruit and vegetables (FV) is becoming more prominently recognised as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Lock et al. (2005) estimated the global burden attributed to suboptimal intake of FV, and compared its impact with that of […]