Correlations Between Nutrition Habits, Anxiety and Metabolic Parameters in Greek Healthy Adults

Anxiety combined with nervousness and apprehension consist a focal response to different life conditions. Lifestyle habits, anxiety and biochemical markers are in a constant interaction.

To investigate the prevalence of anxiety in healthy adults and its possible association with biochemical factors-lipid profile, liver markers, thyroid hormones-and lifestyle habits.

Quantitative descriptive correlation study. A total of 100 healthy adults participated in the research. A specially designed questionnaire and Hamilton's scale were used. Anthropometric and biochemical analyses were performed.

Overall, 61% of the participants presented moderate to very serious anxiety. The average score on the Hamilton scale was 13.82 (±9.000), with men exhibiting less stress than women. For p ≤ 0.05: Stress was positively correlated with impaired thyroid and hepatic function. Hepatic function was affected by both sugar products and water melon, which were positively correlated with total bilirubin and AST/SGOT respectively. Tomato, peppers and legumes were negatively correlated with AST/SGOT. Deep fried food was positively correlated with GGT and triglycerides. Legumes and fish were negatively correlated with CPK. Regarding the lipid metabolism, it was found that food cooked with oil was positively associated with uric acid, but non-cooked olive oil was negatively correlated with the risk for CAD. Thyroid function was negatively correlated with non-homemade food and pasta consumption and positively correlated with consumption of whole grains and green tea. Participants with subclinical hypothyroidism seemed to consume less vitamin B12, folic acid and vegetables.

No direct correlation between lifestyle habits and anxiety was found. Nevertheless, eating habits influenced biochemical markers-especially the thyroid hormones-which may be indirectly responsible for anxiety and related moods.