Faezeh Saghafian - Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Background and Aim: We aimed to examine the association between fruit and vegetables intake and prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in a large group of Iranian adults.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3362 people of Iranian adults working in 50 health centers. Dietary data were collected using a validated dish-based 106-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The Iranian-validated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to screen for anxiety and depression.The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used to assess psychological distress.Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and high psychological distress among the study population was 30.0, 15.2, and 25.0%, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, women in the highest quintile of fruit and vegetables intake, compared with those in the bottom quintile, had significantly lower odds of depression (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.37, 0.80)and psychological distress (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.40, 0.90). Furthermore, high intake of total fruit and vegetables was associated with lower odds of psychological distress (OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.21, 0.81) in men. Conclusion: We found significant inverse associations between high intake of fruit with depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in Iranian women. High consumption of vegetables was also associated with lower risk of depression and anxiety, respectively, in women and men. In addition, high intake of total fruit and vegetable was associated with lower odds of depression and psychological distress in women and men.

Fruit · Vegetables · Depression · Anxiety · Distress