Dietary Fiber Intake and Depressive Symptoms Among Postmenopausal Women in the United States: A Cross‐Sectional Analysis of NHANES 2017–2020
Emmanuel Dubure, Ramat SarbahABSTRACT
Objectives
To examine the association between dietary fiber intake and depressive symptoms among postmenopausal women and the role of lifestyle and metabolic factors in this association.
Materials and Methods
A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Survey‐weighted linear regression models were sequentially adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, and metabolic conditions. Mediation analyses were performed using survey‐weighted generalized structural equation models.
Results
In unadjusted analyses, women in the highest fiber intake quartile had lower depressive symptom scores than those in the lowest quartile (−1.68, 95% CI: −2.51, −0.85). This association remained significant after adjustment for sociodemographic factors (−1.01, 95% CI: −1.89, −0.12) but was no longer significant after additional adjustment for lifestyle and metabolic factors. The fully adjusted analyses were based on a substantially smaller analytic sample ( n = 149 vs 1717), primarily due to missing lifestyle data. Mediation analyses modeling fiber intake continuously showed no significant indirect effects through lifestyle (−0.95, 95% CI: −2.80, 0.90) or metabolic (−0.12, 95% CI: −0.39, 0.15) factors.
Conclusion
Higher dietary fiber intake was initially associated with lower depressive symptoms, but this relationship was attenuated after accounting for lifestyle and metabolic factors, with no evidence of significant mediation. Interpretation of the results should consider the substantially reduced analytic sample in the fully adjusted model. These findings highlight the complexity of the association between dietary fiber intake and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women, underscoring the need for further exploration with larger and longitudinal studies.