Association of Fast-Food Intake with Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Young Adults: A Pilot Study

Background: High intake of fast food has been linked to increased risks of both depressive and anxiety disorders. However, associations between individual fast-food items and depressive/anxiety disorders are rarely examined. Method: Using cross-sectional survey the association between common fast-food items and depressive/anxiety symptoms among 142 young Hong Kong adults aged 18-27 years old was examined. A qualitative food frequency questionnaire was employed to measure the intake frequency of 22 common fast-food items found in Hong Kong. Occurrence of significant depressive and anxiety symptoms was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), respectively. Primary measures were multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with the low intake frequency group for common fast-food items. Results: Our observations suggest that frequent intake of high-fat, -sugar, and -sodium fast-foods increased depressive symptoms, while frequent high-fat fast-food intake was associated with anxiety symptoms. However, frequent intake of sugar-free beverages reduced the risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Habitual intake of certain fast foods were related to depressive/anxiety symptoms in young adults.