Association of dietary mineral intake with depression in overweight or obese adults: A cross-sectional study in the United States.

Background: This study explored the association between mineral intake and depression in overweight/obese adults in the United States.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2015 to 2018. Depression was evaluated using the PHQ-9 questionnaire. The participants were divided into overweight/obesity group and non-overweight/obesity group according to whether BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between mineral intake and depression.

Results: A total of 8204 adults were included in this study. Univariate logistic regression model showed the higher intake of phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, sodium, potassium, and calcium (all p < 0.001) in overweight/obese people was associated with lower depression risk. In non-overweight/obese individuals, multivariate models showed higher magnesium intake (Q3 vs. Q1: OR = 0.615, p = 0.042) and sodium intake (Q2-Q4 vs. Q1: p < 0.05) were associated with lower depression risk. The negative correlation between depression risk and the intake of phosphorus (Q2: p = 0.004), magnesium (Q2: p = 0.016; Q3: p = 0.009), iron (Q2: p = 0.019; Q3: p = 0.001), zinc (Q2: p = 0.003), copper (Q2: p = 0.001; Q3: p = 0.001; Q4: p = 0.025), sodium (Q2: p = 0.007), and potassium (Q2: p = 0.006) is more prominent in overweight/obese women.

Conclusion: Appropriate mineral supplementation for overweight/obese individuals may reduce the depression risk, especially in women.