Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of anxiety and depression in people with obesity: a cross-sectional analysis

Anxiety and depression are common mental disorders worldwide, in particular in people with obesity. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been found beneficial for the prevention of anxiety and depression in the general population. We aimed to evaluate this association in a large cohort of people with obesity.

A cross-sectional study of 4957 patients with obesity (63.1% women, median age 49 years, IQR 40–58 years and BMI 33.6 kg/m², IQR 31.6–36.9 kg/m²) was carried out. Clinical history, anthropometric measurements and lifestyle-related information were investigated. A 14-item MEDAS questionnaire was used to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The 20-item STAI2 questionnaire and the 24-item QD questionnaire were used to assess the presence of anxious and depressive symptoms, respectively. Clinical cases of anxiety and depression were identified among patients with a physician-made diagnosis of anxiety and depression or with STAI2 and QD score ≥95th percentiles of reference population.

Overall, 11.9% of participants were positive for anxiety and 11% for depression. Multivariate linear regression models showed a decrease in STAI2 and QD scores of 0.18 points (95%CI: −0.33, −0.03) and 0.10 points (95%CI: −0.16, −0.03), respectively, for each 1-point increase in MEDAS score. The multivariate logistic regression model showed a 7% reduction in the odds of anxiety and depression for each 1-point MEDAS increase (OR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.89, 0.99; OR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88, 0.98).

Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of anxiety and depression in people with obesity. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine causality.