Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28918774›Full record

ArticlePublic health nutrition2018

Dietary patterns and depressive symptoms in a UK cohort of men and women: a longitudinal study.

Kate Northstone, Carol Joinson, Pauline Emmett

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Public health nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Human gut microbiome, diet, and mental disorders.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kate Northstone1The National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West (NIHR CLAHRC West),University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust,Bristol,UK.
Carol Joinson2School of Social and Community Medicine,NIHR CLAHRC West,Level 9,Whitefriars,Lewins Mead,University of Bristol,Bristol BS1 2NT,UK.
Pauline Emmett2School of Social and Community Medicine,NIHR CLAHRC West,Level 9,Whitefriars,Lewins Mead,University of Bristol,Bristol BS1 2NT,UK.
University of Bristol · GBUniversity Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council G9815508Medical Research Council MC_PC_15018Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 102215/2/13/2
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThere is evidence to suggest that individual components of dietary intake are associated with depressive symptoms. Studying the whole diet, through dietary patterns, has become popular as a way of overcoming intercorrelations between individual dietary components; however, there are conflicting results regarding associations between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms. We examined the associations between dietary patterns extracted using principal component analysis and depressive symptoms, taking account of potential temporal relationships.

designDepressive symptoms in parents were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) when the study child was 3 and 5 years of age. Scores >12 were considered indicative of the presence of clinical depressive symptoms. Diet was assessed via FFQ when the study child was 4 years of age.

settingLongitudinal population-based birth cohort. SUBJECTS: Mothers and fathers taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children when their study child was 3-5 years old.

resultsUnadjusted results suggested that increased scores on the 'processed' and 'vegetarian' patterns in women and the 'semi-vegetarian' pattern in men were associated with having EPDS scores ≥13. However, after adjustment for confounders all results were attenuated. This was the case for all those with available data and when considering a sub-sample who were 'disease free' at baseline.

conclusionsWe found no association between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms after taking account of potential confounding factors and the potential temporal relationship between them. This suggests that previous studies reporting positive associations may have suffered from reverse causality and/or residual confounding.

Indexed as

DepressionDietFeeding BehaviorAdultChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesFathersFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedMothersPrincipal Component AnalysisSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited KingdomALSPACDepressionDietary patternsEdinburgh Postnatal Depression ScalePrincipal components analysis

Identifiers

PMID28918774
PMCPMC5848748
OpenAlexW2755799389

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.