DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.24950.2 ISSN: 2398-502X

Dietary exposures and risk of anxiety and depression symptoms in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936: a cohort-level GLAD Project analysis

Janie Corley, Paul Redmond, Melissa M Lane, Felice N Jacka, Deborah N Ashtree, Simon R Cox
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Background Mental disorders such as anxiety and depression are leading contributors to disability worldwide, with growing concern in older adults—particularly in Scotland—where poor diet and mental health challenges are common. While the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has identified dietary risk factors for physical health, their associations with mental health in later life remain underexplored. Methods We used data from 880 participants (mean age 70y) of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 in Scotland to examine cross-sectional associations between 11 GBD-defined dietary exposures (fruit, vegetables, legumes, wholegrains, milk, fibre, calcium, polyunsaturated fatty acids, red meat, processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages) and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Analyses followed harmonised protocols from the Global burden of disease Lifestyle And mental Disorders (GLAD) project (DERR2–10.2196/65576). Dietary exposures were standardised (g/day or % kcal/day), and mental health symptoms dichotomised using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS ≥8 vs <8). Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios per one standard deviation increase, unadjusted and adjusted for age, sex, and education. Sensitivity analyses used energy-adjusted dietary intakes. Results Higher milk and calcium intakes were associated with greater odds of anxiety (milk adjusted OR = 1.194, 95% CI 1.018–1.400; calcium adjusted OR = 1.210, 95% CI 1.027–1.426), and higher sugar-sweetened beverage intake with greater odds of depression (adjusted OR = 1.243, 95% CI 1.007–1.535). After energy-adjustment, higher milk intake remained associated with anxiety (adjusted OR = 1.196, 95% CI = 1.020–1.403), higher fruit intake was associated with lower odds of anxiety (adjusted OR = 0.792, 95% CI 0.640–0.981), and sugar-sweetened beverages remained associated with depression (adjusted OR = 1.249, 95% CI 1.013–1.541). No other associations were significant. Conclusions In older Scottish adults, we observed only modest evidence that certain GBD-defined dietary exposures are associated with anxiety and depression symptoms.

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