Eating ultra-processed food daily increases depression risk in older adults

A large-scale study by older Australians discovers that diets with many ultra-processed food can quietly raise mental well-being of eroding the depression risk and undermining the quality of life, even without antidepressants.

Study: The risk associated with ultra-processed food intake on depressive symptoms and mental health in older adults: an emulation of the target research. Image Credit: Rimma Bondarenko / Shutterstock

Published in a recent study in the magazine BMC MedicinoneResearchers investigated the impact of consuming ultra-processed food (UPF) on mental health and symptoms of depression that older adults experience. Their findings indicate that consuming four or more portions of UPFs is linked every day to a 10% higher risk of depressive symptoms and a modest but statistically significant decrease in quality of life as a result of mental health, even in people who did not take antidepressants at the start.

Background

Spiritual disorders, in particular depression, affect about 14% of older adults and are a growing care. Often depression remains not diagnosed in later life and can lead to various negative health results. Research shows that diet plays a crucial role in promoting good physical and mental health, with bad diets that contribute to chronic diseases, cognitive decline and physical vulnerability.

A way to understand diet quality is via the Nova classification system, which categorizes food based on their level of processing. Upf’s industrially processed items include additives, fats and sugars, such as ready-made meals, sugary drinks, processed meat, packaged bread, soft drinks and soft drinks diet and packaged snacks.

UPF consumption is increasing worldwide, with more than half of the overall energy intake derived from these foods in some nations with a high income. Scientists have linked UPF intake to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and dementia. Although UPFs are also involved in some psychological disorders, proof of their relationship with depression remains inconsistent.

About the study

In this study, researchers have applied a framework in the field of target to examine the impact of consuming UPFs on mental health and depressive symptoms in older adults. Since conducting randomized controlled investigations (RCTs), which are considered the ‘gold standard’ in clinical research, is not always ethical because of challenges such as maintaining long -term therapy or feasible in the context of mental health, target tests offer a rigorous approach to the investigators.

The research team used data from a longitudinal study with 11,192 older adults aged 70 and older in Australia, all of whom lived in community institutions. All participants were free from large handicaps, dementia and cardiovascular disease at the start of the research.

Outcome measures, namely general mental health and depressive symptoms that were assessed using the center of 10 items for epidemiological studies Depression (CES-D-10) scale, were measured in people who consumed four or more UPF portions per day and compared to those who consumed less than four. The CES-D-10 is a validated tool in older adults, whereby clinically relevant depressive symptoms are recorded.

Statistical approaches to limit the risk of prejudices in observational studies include the use of inverse probability weights, followed by the application of marginal structural regression models. UPF intake was assessed with the help of both portions per day and portion size/energy contribution in sensitivity analyzes. A sensitivity analysis excluded people with depressive symptoms at the start (defined as a CES-D-10 score ≥8) or those who used antidepressants at the start.

Findings

Of the original study test, 11,192 Australian adults with an average age of 74.9 were included in the study; Slightly less than 54% of the participants were female. The average participant consumed 3.4 portions of UPFs per day, in which men consumed slightly more than women (3.7 portions compared to 3.2 portions). More than 30% of the participants consumed four or more portions of UPFS every day.

More than 90% reported good social support systems, 81.5% had multiple comorbidities and almost three -quarters consumed alcohol. After researchers used inverse probability movement, the high-upf and low-upf groups were well balanced about other observed characteristics.

At the start, 17.4% of people in the high UPF group had depressive symptoms compared to 15.8% in the low UPF group. During the next median of 5.8 years of follow-up observations, 41.8% developed symptoms of depression, with a high UPF consumption the risk of symptoms increased by 10%.

After excluding participants who used antidepressants at the start, these results remained consistent, with consumers with a high UPF showing an increased risk of 11%. In subgroup analyzes, the highest quartile of UPF intake showed a higher risk of depression; Stronger associations were also noticed for female participants, people with a higher Body Mass Index, people without multimorbidities and people with primary education, although the association was not statistically significant in men.

Higher UPF intake was also linked to lower mental health; On average, high UPF consumers had a 0.4-point lower mental health score (on the 100-point SF-12 mental component score) than low UPF consumers, with a stronger effect observed with female participants.

Conclusions

These findings correspond to earlier studies that link UPF intake to poorer results of mental health, not only in older people, but also with younger and adults of middle age. The observed relationship may be due to UPFs that disrupt the intestine brain axis and contribute to oxidative stress and inflammation, which influences the ability of the body to regulate mood.

Despite the rigorous research design, the results can be influenced by recall and measurement errors; The analysis was also not account of energy intake or dietary changes over time, and UPF intake was assessed with both portions per day and portion size/energy contribution.

However, the authors have carried out an E-value analysis and discovered that non-measured confounders should have a risk rate of ≥1.43 in order to fully explain the observed association, which enhances confidence in the results. Although the 0.4-point deterioration of scores for mental health statia was statistically significant, the authors warn that the clinical relevance of it or such a small change has a meaningful influence on daily life-being-or not certainly.

These findings justify further research into improving the results of mental health through interventions in food.