Unsaturated fat intakes and mental health outcomes in young women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Heath. Issue 3 (29th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Daley, Clare; Patterson, Amanda; Sibbritt, David; MacDonald-Wicks, Lesley
• Is Part Of: Public health nutrition. Volume 18:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 546
• Page End: 553
• Publication Date: 2014-04-29
• Subjects: Nutrition -- Periodicals; Nutrition policy -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980014000561
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-9800

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="abs1" sec-type="general"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To determine if associations exist between a range of unsaturated fatty acid intakes and mental health outcomes.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs2" sec-type="general"> <title>Design</title> <p>Cross-sectional data analysis of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) Young Cohort Survey 3 that included the validated seventy-four-item Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies FFQ, validated mental health scales and self-report questions on depression and anxiety.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs3" sec-type="general"> <title>Setting</title> <p>Australia, 2003.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs4" sec-type="subjects"> <title>Subjects</title> <p>A nationally representative sample of young Australian women (25–30 years) from ALSWH. The 7635 women with plausible energy intakes (>4·5 but <20·0 MJ/d) were included in the analyses.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs5" sec-type="results"> <title>Results</title> <p>Adjusted logistic regression analyses found statistically significant associations between higher intakes of α-linolenic acid and decreased likelihood of depressive symptoms indicated by the ten-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10; OR=0·77; 95 % CI 0·60, 0·99; <italic>P</italic>=0·040) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) mental health subscale (OR=0·73 95 % CI 0·56, 0·96; <italic>P</italic>=0·024). Furthermore, higher intakes of <italic>n</italic>-6 fatty acids (OR=0·96, 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99; <italic>P</italic>=0·019) and linoleic acid (OR=0·96, 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99; <italic>P</italic>=0·020) were associated with decreased likelihood of self-reported diagnosed anxiety and higher intakes of <italic>n</italic>-9 fatty acids (OR=1·02, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·04; <italic>P</italic>=0·041) and oleic acid (OR=1·02, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·05; <italic>P</italic>=0·046) were associated with increased likelihood of self-reported diagnosed anxiety.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs6" sec-type="general"> <title>Conclusions:</title> <p>Increased intakes of α-linolenic acid were associated with a reduced likelihood of depressive symptoms, increased intakes of <italic>n</italic>-6 fatty acids and linoleic acid were associated with a reduced likelihood of self-reported anxiety, and increased intakes of <italic>n</italic>-9 fatty acids and oleic acid were associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety. Additional studies are needed to further elucidate associations between unsaturated fatty acids and depression and anxiety.</p> </sec> </abstract>