Higher Dietary Fiber Lowers Premenopausal Depression Risk

FRIDAY, Jan. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Dietary fiber intake is inversely associated with depression in premenopausal women, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in Menopause.

Yunsun Kim, M.D., from Chung-ang University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used data from the Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey for 2014, 2016, and 2018 to assess the relationship between dietary fiber intake and depression in 5,807 women by menopause status.

The researchers found that among the premenopausal women, dietary fiber intake was higher in the nondepression group than in the depression group, but there was no significant difference among postmenopausal women. In adjusted models, among the premenopausal women, there was a significantly inverse relationship between a change in daily dietary fiber (1 g/1,000 kcal) and the prevalence of depression (odds ratio, 0.949). No such significant association was seen among postmenopausal women.

“Our findings may also enable the development of preventive strategies for depression based on nutritional modifications with a specific focus on premenopausal women,” the authors write.

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