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Fermented Food Consumption and Psychological Symptoms Among Malaysian University Students
The impact of fermented foods on mental health, particularly through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, has garnered attention. However, the relationship between regular consumption of these foods and psychological symptoms in a Southeast Asian context remains uncertain. This research aimed to elucidate the connection between fermented food intake and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among university students in Malaysia.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 212 undergraduate participants from a public university, using a culturally adapted food frequency questionnaire to assess weekly servings of both traditional and commercial fermented foods. Psychological symptomatology was evaluated with the validated Malay DASS-21 scale. To determine associations, multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted Odds Ratios (aORs) for moderate-to-extremely severe psychological symptoms by additional servings consumed per week and intake quartiles, controlling for sociodemographic and health-related variables.
Results indicated that the median intake of fermented foods was 2.0 servings per week. Upon adjustment, the analysis revealed no significant correlation between fermented food consumption and the severity of depression, anxiety, or stress. Additional quartile and spline analyses did not uncover a consistent dose-response pattern.
These outcomes imply that the typical consumption of diverse fermented foods in real-life settings may not reflect the psychobiotic benefits observed in controlled trials. Factors such as variability in microbial composition, relatively low intake levels, and the non-clinical nature of the sampled population could restrict the identification of significant associations. Ultimately, this study concludes that habitual intake of fermented foods does not independently correlate with the severity of psychological symptoms in this Southeast Asian university cohort, underscoring the need for research that is both culturally pertinent and mechanistically informed within the field of nutritional psychiatry. [NPID: Fermented foods, anxiety, depression, microbial diversity]
Year: 2026
