The relationship between mediterranean DİET adherence level and depressive symptoms in adult women

Adherence to a healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet is associated with better cognitive health, and the protective effects of the Mediterranean diet on cognitive health are attributed to multiple nutrients. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on depressive symptoms in adult women. The study was conducted on 162 adult women aged between 20-58 years who applied to a private clinic in Mersin province Akdeniz district between November 2020 and February 2021. A questionnaire consisting of 23 multiple-choice questions including descriptive information about their demographic characteristics, smoking and alcohol use, health status, nutritional habits, physical activity status and use of vitamin-mineral supplements were applied to the women who agreed to participate in the study. Food consumption records were taken with a 24-hour reminder method to determine the energy, macro and micronutrients that individuals take in diet; Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS) was used to determine the adaptation to Mediterranean diet and Beck Depression Scale (BDI) was used to determine depression levels. The mean age of the individuals participating in the study was 31.3±9.46 years. In the classification according to body mass index (BMI), 28.4% of individuals are overweight, 6.8% are first degree obese and 1.9% are second degree obese. It was determined that 35.2% of the individuals had low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, 33.3% had medium adherence, 31.5% had high compliance. A statistically significant relationship was found between individuals' adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the waist/hip ratio classification (p=0.027). The percentage of energy coming from protein was found to be higher in individuals with moderate adherence with the Mediterranean diet than those with low compliance (p=0.017). It was determined that 44.4% of the individuals showed minimal, 29.6% mild, 24.7% moderate and 1.3% severe depressive symptoms. It was determined that 54.4% of individuals with normal BMI were in the minimal depressed group, and 37% of overweight individuals were in the moderate depressed group, and a statistically significant relationship was found between depression levels and BMI classification (p=0.008). The mean Beck depression scale scores of the individuals were determined as 16.2±7.69 in the low adherence group to the Mediterranean diet, 9.7±6.36 in the moderate adherence group, and 8.6±5.67 in the high adherence group, and it was observed that the depression scale scores increased as the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet decreased (p>0.05). It was determined that 41.7% of individuals in the minimally depressive group showed moderate adherence to the Mediterranean diet; 39.6% of those in mildly depressive group showed high adherence; 70% of those in the moderately depressive group showed low adherence and 100% of the individuals in the severely depressive group showed low adherence. A statistically significant relationship was found between the depression levels of the individuals and the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p<0.001). In conclusion, it was determined that the Mediterranean diet, which is a healthy diet rich in nutritional diversity, may affect the level of depressive symptoms in adult women.