Association between plant-based diets and depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults

This study aimed to evaluate associations between plant-based diets and the prevalence of depressive symptoms (DepS) among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. This study included 3153 participants aged 45 and older. Dietary intake was collected using a food frequency questionnaire, and DepS was evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Foods were classified into 17 groups and three plant-based diet indices were created, including the overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI). Compared to the lowest quartile, participants in the highest quartile of hPDI had lower odds of DepS (OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.89). Conversely, the highest quartile of the uPDI was associated with higher odds of DepS (OR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.82). These findings supported that the quality of plant-based diets matters for mental health.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Science of Food
Published
2025-03-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00399-7
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Diet and metabolism studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.16
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Association between plant-based diets and depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults

Wenxue Zhang, Shuai Chen, Sui Tang, Tingting Li et al.
1 citations
npj Science of Food
Diet and metabolism studies
1.16
article

Association between plant-based diets and depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults

Wenxue Zhang, Shuai Chen, Sui Tang, Tingting Li, Sai Wang, Chaoning Liu, Chen Huang, Liangkai Chen, Shuang Rong, Li Zhang, Lijuan Xu, Cong Yang, Jin Zhou
article en
1 citations

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate associations between plant-based diets and the prevalence of depressive symptoms (DepS) among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. This study included 3153 participants aged 45 and older. Dietary intake was collected using a food frequency questionnaire, and DepS was evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Foods were classified into 17 groups and three plant-based diet indices were created, including the overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI). Compared to the lowest quartile, participants in the highest quartile of hPDI had lower odds of DepS (OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.89). Conversely, the highest quartile of the uPDI was associated with higher odds of DepS (OR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.82). These findings supported that the quality of plant-based diets matters for mental health.

npj Science of FoodVol. 9(1)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Wuhan University (CN), Chinese Nutrition Society (CN), Integrated Chinese Medicine (China) (HK), Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (CN), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN), Hubei University (CN)
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Diet and metabolism studies
1.16
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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