ArticleNutrients2025
The Association Between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in University Students: The Mediating Role of Lean Mass and the Muscle Strength Index.
Article in Nutrients, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Nuts4Brain-RCT: Protocol for a Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Dose-Response Effects of Nut Consumption on Mental Health in Young Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mediterranean Diet Adherence Is Associated with Lower Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Plant-based diets and depression: epidemiological evidence, biological mechanisms, and implications for prevention.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Association between fat-to-muscle mass ratio and depressive symptoms in U.S. adults: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Self-Perceived Health Status and Life Satisfaction Associated with Emotional Eating in Nursing and Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Region of Peru.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Cross-Sectional Associations Between Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and Disordered Eating Behaviors by Sex in University Students.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Emotional Eating Among University Students: A Literature Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Associations of Ultra-Processed Food Intake and Its Circulating Metabolomic Signature with Mental Disorders in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Spanish University Students: Association with Lifestyle Habits, Mental and Emotional Well-Being.Nutrients · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesrecent studies have suggested that components typical of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are associated with depression and anxiety prevention. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to analyse the associations between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms and to examine whether this relationship is mediated by lean mass and the muscle strength index (MSI).
methodsa cross-sectional study (based on data obtained from the Nuts4Brain-Z study) was conducted from 2023-2024, involving 428 university students, aged 18-30 years, from a Spanish public university. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and anxiety was assessed via the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed using the MEDAS questionnaire. Lean mass was assessed via bioimpedance, and MSI was measured via a dynamometer. ANCOVA models were used to test the mean differences in depression and anxiety scores using MEDAS categories (low adherence < 9 points vs high adherence ≥ 9 points). Serial multiple mediation models, adjusted for the main confounders, were used to explore the role of lean mass and MSI in the relationships between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms.
resultsuniversity students with high adherence to the MedDiet exhibited lower scores for depression and anxiety symptoms (
conclusionadherence to the MedDiet in university students per se does not appear to have a direct effect on depression and anxiety symptoms because these associations are partially (for depression) or entirely (for anxiety) explained by lean mass and MSI.
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