Higher dietary glycemic load is inversely associated with stress prevalence among Iranian adults

Psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, and stress comprise a huge public health problem. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the relationship between dietary glycemic index (DGI) and glycemic load (DGL) and mental disorders.

Participants (n = 10,000) aged 20-69 were randomly selected from 200 clusters in Yazd from the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study. The dietary intake of study participants was collected by a reliable and validated food frequency questionnaire consisting of 178 food items. DGI and DGL were calculated from the FFQ data using previously published reference values. To assess psychological disorders an Iranian validated short version of a self-reported questionnaire Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 was used.

There were no significant associations between DGI and DGL with odds of depression or anxiety in crude and adjusted models. However, individuals in the highest quartiles of DGL had the lowest odds of stress (OR: 0.69; 95% CI 0.47-1, P-trend = 0.023). This association remained significant after adjustment for potential confounding variables in model I (OR: 0.45; 95% CI 0.22-0.9, P-trend = 0.023), model II (OR: 0.46; 95% CI 0.22-0.96, P-trend = 0.039) and model III (OR: 0.46; 95% CI 0.22-0.96, P-trend = 0.042).

In conclusion, consumption of foods with higher GL was associated with lower odds of stress; however, no significant association was found between DGI or DGL and risk of depression and anxiety. Performing further studies with longitudinal design is suggested to confirm these results.