SynthesisBMC psychiatry2024
Association between junk food consumption and mental health problems in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07746791 (Advancing Female University Students Sexual and Reproductive Health, Nutrition, and Psychosocial Well-being Through Mobile Technology Interventions in Ethiopia), which is not on this map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Advancing Female University Students Sexual and Reproductive Health, Nutrition, and Psychosocial Well-being Through Mobile Technology Interventions in Ethiopia
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Association Between Fast Food Consumption and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of unhealthy food/drink marketing exposure to children in New Zealand: a systematic narrative review.Health promotion international · 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
- Association Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Psychological Distress: Analysis of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Emotional Eating and Its Associations with the Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Dietary Behaviors and Mental Health Disorders Among Private University Students in Dhaka North City Corporation, Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Depression meets obesity: Co-occurrence patterns, temporal trends and socioeconomic correlates across 199 countries and territories.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- Emotion regulation habits and emotional states of college students during lockdown: A cross-sectional survey.World journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Lifestyle behavior clusters and their associations with depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: during and after COVID-19 period.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption, Mental Health, and Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review Protocol.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Physical health and the complex role of PTSD symptoms in obesity: evidence from an Italian cohort of maltreated children and adolescents.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Can sports consumption cities reduce residents' medical expenditures? Evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Diet and Mental Health Relationships in Caribbean Populations: A Scoping Review and Evidence Gap Map.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Associations of nutritional habits, lifestyle, and demographic factors with mental health outcomes among university students in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Parent-Child Associations of Eating Habits According to Domains of Parental Physical Activity (EPI-Family Health Study).Nutrients · 2025Article
- Data-driven approach to understand associations between dietary patterns, sleep problems, and mental health in adolescents.Sleep health · 2025Article
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers: A Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Effects of Consuming Ultraviolet Light-Exposed Mushrooms on Self-Reported Indices of Brain Health and Performance-Based Cognition in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnxiety and depression can seriously undermine mental health and quality of life globally. The consumption of junk foods, including ultra-processed foods, fast foods, unhealthy snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages, has been linked to mental health. The aim of this study is to use the published literature to evaluate how junk food consumption may be associated with mental health disorders in adults.
methodsA systematic search was conducted up to July 2023 across international databases including PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and EMBASE. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. Heterogeneity across studies was assessed using the I
resultsOf the 1745 retrieved articles, 17 studies with 159,885 participants were suitable for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis (seven longitudinal, nine cross-sectional and one case-control studies). Quantitative synthesis based on cross-sectional studies showed that junk food consumption increases the odds of having stress and depression (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06 to 1.23). Moreover, pooling results of cohort studies showed that junk food consumption is associated with a 16% increment in the odds of developing mental health problems (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.24).
conclusionMeta-analysis revealed that consumption of junk foods was associated with an increased hazard of developing depression. Increased consumption of junk food has heightened the odds of depression and psychological stress being experienced in adult populations.
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