Dietary pattern among staff members and its relation to depression, Minia University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Depression is a worldwide common mental disorder. According to the WHO reports, the total number of people with depression was more than 300 million in 2015, which was corresponding to 4·4% of the world’s population. The aim of the study is to explore the associations of dietary pattern and depressive symptoms. This cross-sectional study used data of staff members and their assistants in Minia University. Dietary pattern was obtained from three days food records and average was taken. Depressive symptoms were assessed by center of epidemiological studies for depression (CES-D) scale. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations of dietary pattern with the risk of depressive symptoms. A total of 210 individuals aged 25 years and older were included in this study. Low fiber intake was the most important factor associated with presence of depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥16); OR= 12.130, C.I.95%= 2.718- 54.139, P= 0.001. The present study demonstrated that dietary fibers might reduce the risk of depressive symptoms in adults.