Difference in diet between a general population national representative sample and individuals with alcohol use...

Mental disorders influence diet and food consumption, but there is a lack of consistent findings.

To investigate food consumption, nutrient intakes and serum metabolic biomarkers in depressive, anxiety and alcohol use disorders in comparison with the remaining from a population-based nationwide sample.

The study was based on the Health 2000 Survey data of which 5504 subjects aged 30 and over (3009 women and 2495 men) were used for the analysis. Depressive disorder, anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders were diagnosed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI). The consumption of food and beverage items, and nutrient intakes were measured with a validated food frequency questionnaire, and the concentrations of biomarkers were determined in blood samples.

Overall, no similar differences with both genders were found in the intakes of energy, dietary fibre or macronutrients or in biomarkers in depressive or anxiety disorders. Women suffering from depressed disorder consumed more soft drinks (P = 0.034) and women suffering from anxiety disorders consumed more oils (P = 0.001), polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.001) and less potatoes (P = 0.002) than the remaining participants. Men suffering from depressive disorder consumed less sweets and chocolate (P = 0.001) and men with anxiety disorder consumed more tea (P = 0.033) compared with the remaining participants. In alcohol use disorders, the intake of carbohydrate was lower in both genders (P = 0.001 for women, P = 0.001 for men).

A difference in the usual diet exists between individuals with alcohol use disorders and the remaining participants on a population level. No consistent difference in both genders between those with depressive or anxiety disorders and the remaining was found.