ArticleNutrients2023
Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Depressive Symptoms in a Mediterranean Cohort.
Article in Nutrients, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- The bidirectional association of malnutrition with depression and anxiety in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Pooled it
- Neurobiological insights into the effects of ultra-processed food on lipid metabolism and associated mental health conditions: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Predicting Depression Risk in Physically Inactive Older Adults Using Dietary Antioxidants and Machine Learning: A SHAP-Interpretable Analysis of NHANES.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Ultra-Processed Food Intake and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in Early Postpartum: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study in Greece.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Ultra processed food consumption and nutrients adequacy among cancer survivors in Lebanon.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Association between ultra-processed food consumption and odds of depression, stress, and anxiety in adolescent girls: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- An exploratory analysis of the relationship between ultraprocessed food consumption, alcohol intake, body composition, and cardiometabolic markers in individuals with alcohol use disorder.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Understanding the Variability of Associations Between Higher Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Self-Reported Depression Severity: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Ultra-Processed Food Intake as an Effect Modifier in the Association Between Depression and Diabetes in Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Estimating the Burden of Common Mental Disorders Attributable to Lifestyle Factors: Protocol for the Global Burden of Disease Lifestyle and Mental Disorder (GLAD) Project.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Adolescents' ultra-processed food consumption status and its association with food literacy: a cross-sectional study in Chongqing, China.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption is linked to quality of life and mental distress among university students.PeerJ · 2025Article
- The independent and combined associations between the intake of ultra-processed foods, sedentary behavior, and depressive symptoms in young adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Its Association with Risk of Obesity, Sedentary Behaviors, and Well-Being in Adolescents.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Food Consumption According to the NOVA Food Classification and Its Relationship with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Women.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Relationship of the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS) and Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) with depression and anxiety: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Ultra-Processed Foods: A Narrative Review of the Impact on the Human Gut Microbiome and Variations in Classification Methods.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Predispose, precipitate, perpetuate, and protect: how diet and the gut influence mental health in emerging adulthood.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Review
- Ultra-Processed Foods, Diet Quality and Human Health.Nutrients · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Excess consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is currently under investigation for its potentially detrimental impact on human health. Current evidence demonstrates a substantial association with an increased risk of metabolic disorders, but data on mental health outcomes are just emerging. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the consumption of UPFs and depressive symptoms in a sample of younger Italian adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 596 individuals (age 18-35 y) recruited in southern Italy. Food frequency questionnaires and the NOVA classification were used to assess dietary factors; the Center for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression Short Form (CES-D-10) was used to assess presence of depressive symptoms. Individuals in the highest quartile of UPF consumption had higher odds of having depressive symptoms in the energy-adjusted model (odds ratio (OR) = 1.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 3.28); the association remained significant after adjusting for potential confounding factors (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.04, 4.01) and became even stronger after further adjustment for adherence to the Mediterranean diet as a proxy of diet quality (OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.32, 5.51). In conclusion, a positive association between UPF consumption and likelihood of having depressive symptoms was found in younger Italian individuals. Given the consistency of the findings after adjustment for diet quality, further studies are needed to understand whether non-nutritional factors may play a role in human neurobiology.
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