The relationship between plant-based diet indices and sleep health in older adults: the mediating role of depressive symptoms and anxiety

This study by Liu J. et al. (2024) aimed to investigate the mediating effects of anxiety and depression and evaluate the benefits of plant-based dietary patterns on sleep health in older persons. Data from 6853 individuals in the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) was utilized for the analysis, while plant-based diets and sleep health were investigated using restricted cubic splines (RCSs) and logistic regression models. Analysis of the results revealed that a higher plant-based diet index (PDI) leads to higher odds of both improved sleep quality and duration. On the other hand, a higher unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI) was linked to lower odds of good sleep quality. Additional RCS analysis showed a distinct dose-response relationship and mediation analysis showed that the association between plant-based diets and sleep health was partially mediated by anxiety and sadness. In conclusion, the study found significant associations between plant-based diets and improved sleep health in older adults. Anxiety and depression acted as parallel mediators in this relationship, suggesting that early dietary patterns and the management of affective disorders may help enhance sleep quality in older adults. [NPID: Plant-based diet, sleep health, older adults, anxiety, depression]

Year: 2024

Reference: Liu, J., Liu, Z., Zhou, Y., Wu, L., Wang, N., Liu, X., Liu, Y., Yin, X., Yang, A., & Liang, L. (2024). The relationship between plant-based diet indices and sleep health in older adults: the mediating role of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Nutrients, 16(19), 3386. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193386

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