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Associations between an energy-adjusted inflammatory diet index and incident depression: a cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2024

Yinghong Zhai Open the ORCID record for Yinghong Zhai [Opens in a new window] ,
Fangyuan Hu ,
Lei Yuan ,
Lei Wang ,
Xiaofei Ye ,
Yang Cao ,
Jia He ,
Jinhai Sun  and
Feng Xu
Yinghong Zhai*
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Unit, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, People’s Republic of China
Fangyuan Hu
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Service, Naval Hospital of Eastern theater, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316000, People’s Republic of China Department of Health Statistics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China
Lei Yuan
Affiliation:
Department of Health Management, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China
Lei Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, People’s Republic of China
Xiaofei Ye
Affiliation:
Department of Health Statistics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China
Yang Cao
Affiliation:
Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro 70182, Sweden
Jia He
Affiliation:
Department of Health Statistics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China
Jinhai Sun*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Management, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China
Feng Xu*
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Unit, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, People’s Republic of China
*
*Corresponding authors: Yinghong Zhai, email yhongzhai@yeah.net; Jinhai Sun, email sunjinhai2003@sina.cn; Feng Xu, email xufenghhou@163.com
*Corresponding authors: Yinghong Zhai, email yhongzhai@yeah.net; Jinhai Sun, email sunjinhai2003@sina.cn; Feng Xu, email xufenghhou@163.com
*Corresponding authors: Yinghong Zhai, email yhongzhai@yeah.net; Jinhai Sun, email sunjinhai2003@sina.cn; Feng Xu, email xufenghhou@163.com
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Abstract

Growing evidence indicates a link between diet and depression risk. We aimed to examine the association between an inflammatory diet index and depression utilising extensive data from UK biobank cohort. The energy-adjusted dietary inflammation index (E-DII) was calculated to quantify the potential of daily diet, with twenty-seven food parameters utilised. The E-DII scores were classified into two categories (low v. high) based on median value. To mitigate bias and ensure comparability of participant characteristics, propensity score matching was employed. To ascertain the robustness of these associations, sensitivity analyses were conducted. Subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate the consistency of these associations within different subpopulations. Totally, 152 853 participants entered the primary analyses with a mean age of 56·11 (sd 7·98) years. Employing both univariate and multivariate logistic regression models, adjustments were made for varying degrees of confounding factors (socio-demographics, lifestyle factors, common chronic medical conditions including type 2 diabetes and hypertension). Results consistently revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between E-DII and depression. In the context of propensity score matching, participants displaying higher E-DII scores exhibited an increased likelihood of experiencing incident depression (OR = 1·12, 95 % CI: 1·05, 1·19; P = 0·000316). Subgroup analysis results demonstrated variations in these associations across diverse subpopulations. The E-value for the point-estimate OR calculated from the propensity score matching dataset was 1·48. Excluding individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or hypertension, the findings consistently aligned with the positive association in the primary analysis. These findings suggested that consumption of a diet with higher pro-inflammatory potential might associated with an increase of future depression risk.

Keywords

Energy-adjusted inflammatory diet indexIncident depressionProspective studyUK biobank

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 135 , Special Issue 5: Interactions between Nutrition and Mental Health (Part 1) , 14 March 2026 , pp. 518 - 527
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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Footnotes

†

The authors contributed equally to the study

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