Examining the non-linear relationship between sugar consumption and anxiety symptoms in UK biobank data

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common psychiatric condition. The role of sugar in emotional health is becoming more apparent. This cross-sectional study investigated the potential non-linear associations of sugar on GAD and identified thresholds that would be associated with GAD if these non-linear associations were significant, using the UK Biobank.

A sample of 84,087 subjects was included. Total energy and sugar consumption were calculated using Oxford WebQ. Total sugar, glucose, fructose, maltose, and sucrose as dietary exposure. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire was used to measure anxiety symptoms. The non-linear relationship between sugar and GAD scores was examined using generalized additive models (GAMs).

Significant non-linear relationships were found between sugar consumption and GAD score, and were modified by gender and age. Total sugar and sucrose consumption demonstrated non-linear associations with GAD scores among those aged 45 or younger. In those aged 46 to 64 years, non-linear associations of GAD score were found in total sugar consumption in both genders. Additionally, in females, non-linear associations were also observed across all the sugar types; compared to males, only sucrose consumption showed a significant association. Specifically, the association between sucrose consumption and GAD score followed a J-shaped pattern in both genders. Only sucrose consumption demonstrated a non-linear association with GAD scores in females aged 65 or above.

This study identified non-linear and dose-dependent associations between various types of sugar on anxiety in different gender and age groups, which may have implications for lifestyle psychiatry.