195547 Symptoms of depression associated with diet quality in participants of the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study

Monday, November 9, 2009

Alexandra Cremer, MS , Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Marie Fanelli Kuczmarksi, PhD, RD, LD , Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Nancy Cotugna, DrPH, RD , Department of Behavioral Health & Nutrition, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Lawrence Hotchkiss, PhD , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Alan Zonderman, PhD , Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD
Michele K. Evans, MD , Biomedical Research Center, National Institute of Aging, Baltimore, MD
Major depression affects over 15 million Americans. The role of diet in health promotion is widely recognized, while our knowledge of how dietary patterns affect mental health, specifically depression, is still limited. This study investigated the relationship between dietary pattern quality and reported symptoms of depression in a low-income urban population. Subjects included 1,118 African American and white low-income adults, aged 30-64 years, living in Baltimore City and participating in the baseline phase of Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS), a 20-yr longitudinal study. Approximately half the sample had less than 125% of the 2004 Federal poverty income level. Diet quality was assessed with the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI) based on the average of two 24-hour dietary recalls collected by trained interviewers using the USDA Automated Multiple Pass Method. Depressive symptoms were assessed by trained interviewers using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. The mean (±standard error) score for HEI was 52.17 ± 0.40 and for CES-D, 11.64 ± 0.25. Higher HEI scores were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms (p < 0.0001). When gender, race, age, education, income, and participation in food assistance programs were added to the regression analyses, the inverse effect of HEI on depressive symptoms was attenuated appreciably but remained statistically significant. Income played the strongest role in attenuating the HEI-depression relationship. Research with data from future waves of HANDLS study will help assess these associations.

Learning Objectives:
1. To describe differences in the risk of depressive symptoms by race and by gender in a low-income urban sample. 2. To articulate the relationship of income and diet quality with self-reported depressive symptoms. 3. To describe dietary patterns of low-income urban sample as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index-2005.

Keywords: Dietary Assessment, Depression

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have assisted with content validation of the instruments and discussion of data analysis
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Food, Mood & Behavior
See more of: Food and Nutrition