TY - JOUR
T1 - The association between protein consumption from animal and plant sources with psychological distress in older people in the Mediterranean region
AU - D'Cunha, Nathan M.
AU - Foscolou, Alexandra
AU - Tyrovolas, Stefanos
AU - Chrysohoou, Christina
AU - Rallidis, Loukianos
AU - Polychronopoulos, Evangelos
AU - Matalas, Antonia Leda
AU - Sidossis, Labros S.
AU - Naumovski, Nenad
AU - Panagiotakos, Demosthenes B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The ATTICA study is supported by research grants from the Hellenic Cardiology Society (HCS2002) and the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society (HAS2003). The MEDIS study was funded by Research grants from the Hellenic Heart Foundation, the Graduate Program of the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Harokopio University and the Rutgers University, NJ, USA (GA #5884). Stefanos Tyrovolas was supported by the Foundation for Education and European Culture (IPEP), the Sara Borrell postdoctoral program (reference no. CD15/00019 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII - Spain) and the Fondos Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Stefano Tyrovolas and Alexandra Foscolou have been funded for ATHLOS project to study trajectories of healthy aging (European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant agreement No 635316).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - BACKGROUND: The potential for diet to prevent and treat mental health conditions is an exciting area of investigation; however, the impact of different protein sources on mental health outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between dietary protein intake and psychological distress, in people aged >50 years of age, living in Greece. METHODS: A combined data set of older people living in the Athens metropolitan area and 20 Greek islands, from the ATTICA (n = 1,128) and MEDIS (n = 2,221) population-based cross-sectional studies was developed. Anthropometric, clinical and socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and protein consumption (total, animal, plant) consumed based on validated FFQ, were derived through standard procedures and questionnaires. 'Psychological distress' (PDS) was assessed as a combined variable representing symptoms of depression and anxiety using Item Response Theory methodology and fitting a Graded Response Model. RESULTS: Animal protein, but not plant protein intake, was associated with higher PDS following adjustment for age, sex, education level, Mediterranean diet adherence and physical activity (b±SE: 0.399±0.090, p = 0.003). Following analysis by Mediterranean diet adherence level, among low adherers, animal protein intake was positively associated with PDS (b±SE: 1.119±0.174, p = 0.003), and no associations were observed in moderate or high adherence groupsin regards to plant protein intake and PDS. CONCLUSIONS: Animal protein intake is associated with PDS, suggesting a bi-directional relationship, which may be influenced by Mediterranean diet adherence.
AB - BACKGROUND: The potential for diet to prevent and treat mental health conditions is an exciting area of investigation; however, the impact of different protein sources on mental health outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between dietary protein intake and psychological distress, in people aged >50 years of age, living in Greece. METHODS: A combined data set of older people living in the Athens metropolitan area and 20 Greek islands, from the ATTICA (n = 1,128) and MEDIS (n = 2,221) population-based cross-sectional studies was developed. Anthropometric, clinical and socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and protein consumption (total, animal, plant) consumed based on validated FFQ, were derived through standard procedures and questionnaires. 'Psychological distress' (PDS) was assessed as a combined variable representing symptoms of depression and anxiety using Item Response Theory methodology and fitting a Graded Response Model. RESULTS: Animal protein, but not plant protein intake, was associated with higher PDS following adjustment for age, sex, education level, Mediterranean diet adherence and physical activity (b±SE: 0.399±0.090, p = 0.003). Following analysis by Mediterranean diet adherence level, among low adherers, animal protein intake was positively associated with PDS (b±SE: 1.119±0.174, p = 0.003), and no associations were observed in moderate or high adherence groupsin regards to plant protein intake and PDS. CONCLUSIONS: Animal protein intake is associated with PDS, suggesting a bi-directional relationship, which may be influenced by Mediterranean diet adherence.
KW - anxiety
KW - depression
KW - dietary proteins
KW - meat
KW - Mediterranean diet
KW - mental health
KW - vegetables
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85095808949&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3233/NHA-190079
DO - 10.3233/NHA-190079
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85095808949
SN - 2451-9480
VL - 5
SP - 273
EP - 285
JO - Nutrition and Healthy Aging
JF - Nutrition and Healthy Aging
IS - 4
ER -