ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2019
An apple a day: Protective associations between nutrition and the mental health of immigrants in Canada.
Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Augmenting Clinical Interventions in Psychiatric Disorders: Systematic Review and Update on Nutrition.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Evidence of the Importance of Dietary Habits Regarding Depressive Symptoms and Depression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Beyond main effects: Age, education, and immigration history shape self-rated health among Latin Americans in Canada.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Cultural Considerations in Suicide Risk Assessment with Immigrant and Refugee Populations in Canada.Transcultural psychiatry · 2026Review
- Exploring the relationship between food insecurity and postpartum depression: A scoping review.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Observational
- Effects of a cafeteria-based sustainable diet intervention on wellbeing at a large German hospital: a quasi-experimental study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Critical Review of the Cross-Links Between Dietary Components, the Gut Microbiome, and Depression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Burden and trends of mental disorders in China from 1990 to 2019: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- Food Related Challenges and Mental Health Among U.S. African Migrants: A Narrative Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2024Review
- Associations of overall and specific carbohydrate intake with anxiety status evolution in the prospective NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The Role of Kiwifruit in Supporting Psychological Well-Being: A Rapid Review of the Literature.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Centering Culture in Mental Health: Differences in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Access to Care Among Older People of Color.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2022Review
- Role of diet and its effects on the gut microbiome in the pathophysiology of mental disorders.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- Delving the role of nutritional psychiatry to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic induced stress, anxiety and depression.Trends in food science & technology · 2022Review
- Nutrition, nutritional deficiencies, and schizophrenia: An association worthy of constant reassessment.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Review
- Factors Related to Diet Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1055 University Students.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Enzymatic Production of 3-OH Phlorizin, a Possible Bioactive Polyphenol from Apples, byAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
- What Predicts Stable Mental Health in the 18⁻29 Age Group Compared to Older Age Groups? Results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort 2002⁻2014.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMental illness represents a major public health burden among Canada's large immigrant population. A burgeoning cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence base implicates nutrition in mental health. Healthier diets (e.g., those rich in certain micro-nutrients) may benefit cognitive, social, and emotional functioning through attenuated inflammation and other bio-psychological pathways. The present study examined associations between nutrition and three markers of mental health among immigrants to Canada.
methodsEmploying cross-sectional data from immigrant respondents (n = 37,071) to a nationally representative population-based survey (the Canadian Community Health Survey: CCHS 2011-2014), we modelled associations of daily fruit and vegetable consumption with three mental health outcomes: anxiety and/or mood disorder diagnosis, being distressed (assessed via the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), and having good self-rated overall mental health. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed, adjusting for various socio-demographic and lifestyle-related variables.
resultsHigher consumption of fruit and vegetables demonstrated significant, protective associations with odds of having a mood and/or anxiety disorder, being distressed, and self-rated good mental health. Such patterns of association were similar regardless of ethno-cultural minority status and recency of immigration. Moreover, the protective associations of nutrition and mental health were independent of socio-demographic, health, and lifestyle factors.
conclusionsResults suggested evidence of protective associations between healthy nutritional intake and mental illness among a large-scale sample of immigrants in Canada. Importantly, the protective associations of healthier diets with immigrants' mental health were independent of various markers of healthy lifestyles (e.g., general health status, physical activity, alcohol use). Healthy dietary intake may, therefore, be worth consideration in efforts to prevent mental illness among immigrants.
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