Adherence to the Mediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and trajectories of depressive symptomatology in youth

Abstract

Background

The rising prevalence of youth depression underscores the need to identify modifiable factors for prevention and intervention. This study aims to investigate the protective role of Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet on depressive symptoms in adolescents.

Methods

Participants were identified from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Adherence to the MIND diet was measured by the Child Nutrition Assessment or the Block Kids Food Screener. Depressive symptoms were measured annually using the Child Behavior Checklist's depression subscale. We utilized regression analyses and cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) to examine longitudinal associations. Additional analyses adjusted for polygenic risk scores for depression, and changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio.

Results

Of the 8459 children (52.3 % male; mean age 10.9 [SD, 0.6] years), 2338 (27.6 %) demonstrated high MIND diet adherence, while 2120 (25.1 %) showed low adherence. High adherence was prospectively associated with reduced depressive symptoms (adjusted β, −0.64, 95 % CI, −0.73 to −0.55; p < 0.001) and 46 % lower odds of clinically relevant depression (adjusted odds ratio, 0.54, 95 % CI, 0.39 to 0.75; p < 0.001) at two-year follow-up. CLPM analyses showed significant cross-lag paths from MIND diet scores to less depressive symptoms across three time points. These associations persisted independently of changes in BMI and waist-to-height ratios, and were not significantly moderated by genetic predisposition to depression.

Conclusions

Higher adherence to the MIND dietary pattern was longitudinally associated with decreased risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Promoting MIND diet may represent a promising strategy for depression prevention in adolescent populations.