Plant-Based Diet Indices and Depression in University Students: The Nuts4Brain-Z Study

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Psychiatry
• Mental Health Research
• Dietary Epidemiology

Background:

• Limited evidence exists on the link between plant-based diets and depression in young adults.
• This study investigates associations between overall, healthy, and unhealthy plant-based diet indices and depressive symptoms.
• University students represent a key demographic for understanding early-life dietary impacts on mental well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the association between adherence to different plant-based diet indices (overall, healthy, unhealthy) and depressive symptoms.
• To assess the relationship between plant-based dietary patterns and depression prevalence in a university student population.
• To determine if the quality of plant-based foods influences mental health outcomes in young adults.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 392 university students in Cuenca, Spain (2023).
• Dietary intake assessed using a 137-item food-frequency questionnaire to calculate plant-based diet indices (PDI, hPDI, uPDI).
• Depressive symptoms measured by Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II); logistic and linear regression models adjusted for confounders.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of mild-to-severe depression was 36.0% among participants.
• Higher adherence to the healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI) and overall PDI correlated with lower depressive symptom scores.
• High hPDI adherence was significantly associated with lower odds of mild-to-severe depression (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.28-0.95).

Conclusions:

• Greater adherence to a healthy plant-based diet is associated with reduced depressive symptoms and lower odds of depression in university students.
• The quality of plant-based foods, rather than simply adopting a plant-based diet, appears crucial for mental health in young adults.
• Findings underscore the importance of promoting healthy plant-based dietary patterns for preventing depression among students.