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Legume and nut consumption in relation to depression, anxiety and psychological distress in Iranian adults

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Abstract

Purpose

Although considerable research has been devoted to the link between consumption of legume and nuts and metabolic abnormalities, few studies have examined legume and nut consumption in relation to psychological disorders. The current study aimed to examine the association of legume and nut consumption with depression, anxiety and psychological distress in Iranian adults.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was carried out among 3172 adult participants aged 18–55 years. Assessment of legume and nut consumption was conducted using a validated dish-based 106-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The Iranian validated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to examine psychological health. Scores of 8 or more on either subscale in the questionnaire were considered to indicate the presence of depression or anxiety. Data on psychological distress were collected using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), in which the score of 4 or more was considered as having psychological distress.

Results

The mean age of participants was 36.5 ± 7.9 years. In the fully adjusted model, men in the top quintile of legume and nut consumption were 66% less likely to be anxious than those in the bottom quintile (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.14–0.82). However, such significant relationship was not observed among women (OR 1.06; 95% CI 0.63–1.77). We failed to find any other significant association between legume and nut consumption and depression or psychological distress after adjustment for potential confounders either in men or women.

Conclusions

We found that consumption of legume and nuts was associated with lower odds of anxiety in men, but not in women. No other significant association was seen among participants. Legume and nut consumption might be promising and, along with medications, could be used to prevent, control or delay psychological disorders.

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Abbreviations

SEPAHAN:

Studying the Epidemiology of Psycho-Alimentary Health and Nutrition

DS-FFQ:

Dish-based 106-item Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire

HADS:

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

GHQ:

General Health Questionnaire

GPPAQ:

General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire

ANOVA:

One-way analysis of variance

OR:

Odds ratio

USDA:

US Department of Agriculture

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Funding

 The study was financially supported by National Institute for Medical Research Development of I.R. Iran (Project code: 958641).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Students’ Scientific Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Javad Anjom-Shoae & Omid Sadeghi

  2. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 14155-6117, Tehran, Iran

    Javad Anjom-Shoae, Omid Sadeghi & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli

  4. Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Esfahān, Iran

    Hamid Afshar

  5. Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  6. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Esfahān, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  7. Integrative Functional Gastroenterology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Esfahān, Iran

    Peyman Adibi

Authors
  1. Javad Anjom-Shoae
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  2. Omid Sadeghi
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  3. Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli
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  4. Hamid Afshar
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  5. Ahmad Esmaillzadeh
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  6. Peyman Adibi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmad Esmaillzadeh.

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None of the authors declared any personal or financial conflicts of interest.

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Anjom-Shoae, J., Sadeghi, O., Keshteli, A.H. et al. Legume and nut consumption in relation to depression, anxiety and psychological distress in Iranian adults. Eur J Nutr 59, 3635–3645 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-020-02197-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-020-02197-1

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