The association between nutrients intake, diet quality and food insecurity with depression in patients with coronary artery disease.

Aim: Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder in patients with cardiovascular disease worldwide. The purpose of this observational study was to determine the association between nutrients intake, food insecurity, and diet quality with depression in patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD).

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 225 coronary artery patients. Nutrients intake, diet quality (by calculating Framingham Nutrition Risk Score (FNRS)), food insecurity and depression status of patients were obtained by using standard validated questionnaires. Relevant statistical analyses including logistic regression were used to analyze all data. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The multivariate-adjusted regression model showed that a higher intake of total fat (P = 0.02, OR = 1.031) increases the odds of depression. However, a higher intake of PUFA and Vitamin B12 was associated with its lower odds. (P = 0.005, OR = 0.87 and P = 0.005, OR = 0.73, respectively). It also indicated food insecurity was associated with depression in CAD patients (P < 0.001, OR = 6.92). FNRS could not show any significant association.

Conclusion: This study indicated that the dietary intake of PUFA and vitamin B12 were negatively associated with depression, while the intake of total fat from diet was directly associated with depression and might be considered as a risk factor in CAD patients. Furthermore, food insecurity was strongly and positively associated with depression in these patients. However, diet quality based on FNRS was not associated with depression among patients with CAD.