Alfaro-González Sofía, Garrido-Miguel Miriam, Pascual-Morena Carlos, Pozuelo-Carrascosa Diana P, Fernández-Rodríguez Rubén, Martínez-Hortelano José Alberto, Mesas Arthur E, Martínez-Vizcaíno Vicente
Health and Social Research Center, Universidad de Castilla La-Mancha, 16071 Cuenca, Spain.
Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02006 Albacete, Spain.
Nutrients. 2025 Jan 18;17(2):346. doi: 10.3390/nu17020346.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: recent studies have suggested that components typical of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are associated with depression and anxiety prevention. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to analyse the associations between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms and to examine whether this relationship is mediated by lean mass and the muscle strength index (MSI).
a cross-sectional study (based on data obtained from the Nuts4Brain-Z study) was conducted from 2023-2024, involving 428 university students, aged 18-30 years, from a Spanish public university. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and anxiety was assessed via the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed using the MEDAS questionnaire. Lean mass was assessed via bioimpedance, and MSI was measured via a dynamometer. ANCOVA models were used to test the mean differences in depression and anxiety scores using MEDAS categories (low adherence < 9 points vs high adherence ≥ 9 points). Serial multiple mediation models, adjusted for the main confounders, were used to explore the role of lean mass and MSI in the relationships between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms.
university students with high adherence to the MedDiet exhibited lower scores for depression and anxiety symptoms ( < 0.05) than did students with low adherence to the MedDiet. The mediation analysis preliminarily revealed that both lean mass and MSI acted as mediators of the relationships between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety.
adherence to the MedDiet in university students per se does not appear to have a direct effect on depression and anxiety symptoms because these associations are partially (for depression) or entirely (for anxiety) explained by lean mass and MSI.
背景/目的：近期研究表明，地中海饮食（MedDiet）的典型成分与预防抑郁和焦虑有关。从这个意义上讲，本研究的主要目的是分析坚持地中海饮食与抑郁和焦虑症状之间的关联，并检验这种关系是否由瘦体重和肌肉力量指数（MSI）介导。
于2023年至2024年进行了一项横断面研究（基于从Nuts4Brain-Z研究中获得的数据），涉及来自一所西班牙公立大学的428名18至30岁的大学生。使用贝克抑郁量表（BDI-II）评估抑郁，通过广泛性焦虑障碍-7（GAD-7）工具评估焦虑。使用MEDAS问卷评估对地中海饮食的依从性。通过生物电阻抗评估瘦体重，使用测力计测量MSI。使用协方差分析模型，以MEDAS类别（低依从性<9分与高依从性≥9分）检验抑郁和焦虑评分的均值差异。使用针对主要混杂因素进行调整的系列多重中介模型，探讨瘦体重和MSI在坚持地中海饮食与抑郁和焦虑症状之间关系中的作用。
与低依从地中海饮食的学生相比，高依从地中海饮食的大学生抑郁和焦虑症状得分更低（<0.05）。中介分析初步显示，瘦体重和MSI均在坚持地中海饮食与抑郁和焦虑之间的关系中起中介作用。
大学生坚持地中海饮食本身似乎对抑郁和焦虑症状没有直接影响，因为这些关联部分（对于抑郁）或全部（对于焦虑）由瘦体重和MSI解释。
