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Systemic inflammation mediates the association between dietary inflammation index and incident anxiety and depression in UK Biobank
The relationship between diet, systemic inflammation, and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety remains unclear. Zhou et al. (2025) sought to ascertain whether systemic inflammation mediates the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the incidence of anxiety and depression. Data from 55,799 UK Biobank participants were analyzed, using a 24-hour dietary recall over three days to assess DII. The authors used standardized indicators, namely the Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI) and the Systemic Immuno-Inflammation Index (SII), to quantify systemic inflammation. Furthermore, the authors discovered that participants’ DII scores ranged from -6.87 to 4.88, with a median of -0.67. Over a median follow-up of 9.12 years, 1,409 participants developed depression, and 1,806 developed anxiety. The authors also noted that higher dietary inflammation index was correlated with a higher incidence of developing both diseases. Systemic inflammation played a mediating role in these associations: SIRI accounted for 4.12% of the depression risk and 8.27% of the anxiety risk, while SII mediated 4.43% of depression and 4.19% of anxiety. Some limitations include the possible coexistence of other psychiatric disorders, lack of data on changes in DII and inflammation markers over time, and the demographic constraints of the study sample. Despite these limitations, the findings indicate that a pro-inflammatory diet may contribute to the risk of depression and anxiety, partially through its effects on systemic inflammation. [NPID: Dietary inflammation, depression, anxiety, systemic inflammation, immune response, mediation analysis, UK Biobank, mental health, inflammation markers, dietary recall]
Year: 2025
