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The mediating role of dietary inflammatory index on the association between eating breakfast and depression: Based on NHANES 2007–2018.
Depression is a serious, widespread public health issue that is influenced by a wide range of variables, including lifestyle choices, social interactions, and nutrition. In this study, Wang et al. (2024) assessed the relationship between eating breakfast, depression, and the dietary inflammatory index (DII), as well as investigating whether DII had a moderating influence on the relationship between breakfast consumption and depression. This study comprised 21,865 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2007-2018). The DII classified dietary inflammation into two categories: pro-inflammatory diets and anti-inflammatory diets. A pro-inflammatory diet and missing breakfast were identified as depressive risk factors. Following covariate adjustment, those who reported eating breakfast in only one of the conducted dietary recalls had greater odds of depression than those who reported eating breakfast in both recalls. Dietary inflammatory index (DII) was found to mediate the relationship between eating breakfast and depression, where 26.15% of subjects reported eating breakfast in one recall, whereas 26.67% reported missing breakfast in both recalls. The authors highlight, however, that since this study was cross-sectional, it was unable to support a cause-and-effect link. Furthermore, inadequate data on medication use meant that its presence as a confounding factor was not considered. The authors conclude that, by elevating DII through a pro-inflammatory diet, skipping breakfast may raise the risk of depression, in addition to confirming the importance of eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and having breakfast every day in lowering the incidence of depression. [NPID: Depression, breakfast, dietary inflammatory index, dietary habits, cross-sectional study, NHANES]
Year: 2024
