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Impact of healthy lifestyle on the incidence and progression trajectory of mental disorders: A prospective study in the UK Biobank
A healthy way of living has been associated with a lower chance of mental illnesses (MDs), such as anxiety and depression. However, there is a lack of research on how a comprehensive healthy lifestyle impacts the progression of these disorders. Included in the study by Chen et al. (2024) were 385,704 members of the UK Biobank cohort who had never had an evaluation of mental disorders. The authors computed a composite healthy lifestyle score by examining factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking habits, physical activity, sleep patterns, and dietary choices, including fruit, vegetables, oily fish, red meat, and processed meat intake. The findings indicated that individuals with a higher lifestyle score had a reduced likelihood of transitioning from a state of no anxiety or depression (baseline) to experiencing anxiety or depression, as well as from already having anxiety or depression to developing comorbid conditions. Furthermore, leading a better lifestyle reduced the likelihood that, after two years of diagnosis, anxiety would give way to comorbidity. Lower probability of comorbidity was linked to higher lifestyle ratings between 2-4 years and 4-6 years after the start of depression. The authors comment that their study’s applicability to other ethnic groups is constrained. However, it underscores the protective role of a holistic, healthy lifestyle in managing MD trajectories and highlights critical windows for intervention. [NPID: Healthy lifestyle, mental illness, anxiety, depression, UK Biobank, lifestyle score]
Year: 2024
