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Does reverse causality explain the relationship between diet and depression?

Jacka, Felice N; Cherbuin, Nicolas; Butterworth, Peter; Anstey, Kaarin

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BACKGROUND: Observational studies have repeatedly demonstrated relationships between habitual diet quality and depression. However, whilst reverse causality has not been the identified mechanism for these associations in prospective studies, the relationship between diet and depression is likely complex and bidirectional. Thus explicit investigation of the reverse causality hypothesis is warranted. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Study, a...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorJacka, Felice N
dc.contributor.authorCherbuin, Nicolas
dc.contributor.authorButterworth, Peter
dc.contributor.authorAnstey, Kaarin
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-14T23:21:49Z
dc.identifier.issn0165-0327
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/104104
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Observational studies have repeatedly demonstrated relationships between habitual diet quality and depression. However, whilst reverse causality has not been the identified mechanism for these associations in prospective studies, the relationship between diet and depression is likely complex and bidirectional. Thus explicit investigation of the reverse causality hypothesis is warranted. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Study, a longitudinal community survey following three age cohorts from Australia. Analyses evaluated the relationships between past depression and treatment, current depressive symptoms and dietary patterns. RESULTS: Individuals with current depression had lower scores on a healthy dietary pattern; however, those who had been previously depressed and sought treatment had higher scores on the healthy dietary pattern at the later baseline assessment. Moreover, those who had reported prior, but not current, depression also had lower scores on the western dietary pattern than those without prior depression, regardless of whether they had been previously treated for their symptoms. LIMITATIONS: Self-report data and possible recall bias limit our conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, prior depression was associated with better quality diets at the later time point. Thus, while current depression is associated with poorer dietary habits, a history of depression may prompt healthier dietary behaviours in the long term. Given the demonstrated relationships between diet quality and depressive illness, clinicians should advocate dietary improvement for their patients with depression and should not be pessimistic about the likelihood of adherence to such recommendations.
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.sourceJournal of Affective Disorders
dc.titleDoes reverse causality explain the relationship between diet and depression?
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume175
dc.date.issued2015
local.identifier.absfor170202 - Decision Making
local.identifier.absfor170199 - Psychology not elsewhere classified
local.identifier.ariespublicationu9912193xPUB440
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationJacka, F.N., The University of Melbourne
local.contributor.affiliationCherbuin, Nicolas, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationAnstey, Kaarin, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationButterworth, Peter, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/973302
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/179805
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/350833
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/157125
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1002560
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT120100227
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT130101444
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/418039
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage248
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage250
local.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.007.
local.identifier.absseo920410 - Mental Health
local.identifier.absseo920401 - Behaviour and Health
local.identifier.absseo920411 - Nutrition
dc.date.updated2016-06-14T09:21:11Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-84964255401
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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