Association between nut consumption and depression and anxiety

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. The nuts are rich in bioactive compounds with antioxidant and neuroprotective properties, may play a role in mental health. This study aims to investigate the association between nut consumption and symptoms of depression and anxiety among Iranian adults. This cross-sectional analysis was performed on 1,994 healthy adults. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Nuts included all commonly consumed tree nuts and peanuts. Participants were divided into two categories based on the median of nut consumption including; < 3.4 servings/week and ≥ 3.4 servings/week. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). This association were assessed using Binary logistic regression. The mean age of participants was 39.3 ± 14.4 years and 53.5% were women. In the crude model, higher nut consumption was significantly associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms (OR: 0.62; p = 0.01). This association remained significant after adjustment for all potential confounders (OR: 0.72; p = 0.033). No significant association was observed between nut consumption and anxiety symptoms in either the crude (OR: 0.81; p = 0.056), or fully adjusted models (OR: 0.85; p = 0.257). The findings showed that higher nut consumption was independently associated with reduced occurrence of depressive symptoms among Iranian adults. Further longitudinal and interventional studies are warranted to confirm these associations.