The British Journal of Psychiatry (2009) 195: 408-413. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.058925
© 2009 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age

Tasnime N. Akbaraly, PhD

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK, and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U888, Montpellier, University of Montpellier 1, France

Eric J. Brunner, PhD, Jane E. Ferrie, PhD, Michael G. Marmot, PhD and Mika Kivimaki, PhD

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK

Archana Singh-Manoux, PhD

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK, and INSERM U687-IFR69 and Centre de Gérontologie, Hôpital Ste Périne, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, France

Correspondence: Tasnime N. Akbaraly, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Email: tasnime.akbaraly{at}inserm.fr

Declaration of interest

None.

Background

Studies of diet and depression have focused primarily on individual nutrients.

Aims

To examine the association between dietary patterns and depression using an overall diet approach.

Method

Analyses were carried on data from 3486 participants (26.2% women, mean age 55.6 years) from the Whitehall II prospective cohort, in which two dietary patterns were identified: ‘whole food’ (heavily loaded by vegetables, fruits and fish) and ‘processed food’ (heavily loaded by sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products). Self-reported depression was assessed 5 years later using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression (CES–D) scale.

Results

After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the highest tertile of the whole food pattern had lower odds of CES–D depression (OR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.56–0.99) than those in the lowest tertile. In contrast, high consumption of processed food was associated with an increased odds of CES–D depression (OR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.11–2.23).

Conclusions

In middle-aged participants, a processed food dietary pattern is a risk factor for CES–D depression 5 years later, whereas a whole food pattern is protective.