Dietary habits and anthropometric indices among patients with major depressive disorder

Purpose – This paper aims to determine the comparison between dietary habits and intakes and also anthropometric indices among adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls. MDD is a common psychiatric disorder with high prevalence in the world which imposes great economic pressure on the society and also the individual. Nutritional factors affect depressive symptoms by different mechanisms, so dietary modification would be inexpensive and somewhat conceivable. Design/methodology/approach – This pilot case – control study was performed on 30 MDD patients and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Demographic and anthropometric characteristics of the patients were recorded. Dietary intake and food habits were assessed by food records and using the food frequency questionnaire, respectively. Variables were compared between two groups using the independent t-test or Mann – Whitney test. Findings – Nutrient intake (except for copper and vitamin D) was significantly higher among healthy subjects when compared to the MDD patients. Daily frequency of food consumption was significantly low among depressed patients in comparison to healthy participants in all seven food groups, except the bread and cereals group. Healthy subjects consumed more fish, about once during two months of a year, while this number was low for MDD patients. Originality/value – The results of this case – control study revealed that dietary habits and consequently micronutrient and macronutrient intakes were significantly different between healthy and MDD patients.