Is Vegetarianism Related to Anxiety and Depression? A Cross-sectional Survey in a French Sample

Overview

Journal J Health Popul Nutr

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Nutritional Sciences
Public Health

Date 2022 May 9

PMID 35534854

Authors

Laurent Begue

Rebecca Shankland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The relationship between vegetarianism and mental health is controversial. The aim of the present study is to examine the cross-sectional association between anxiety, depression, and vegetarianism in a French sample while controlling for potential confounders.

Design: Self-reported questionnaire data were obtained from a large cross-sectional sample.

Participants And Setting: We included an online sample of 6578 participants aged 18-90, 70.8% females.

Results: Analyses of variance with age, gender, body mass index (BMI), educational level, monthly income, and city size as covariates showed that vegetarians and non-vegetarians did not appear to have significantly different levels of anxiety or depression.

Conclusion: Our findings do not suggest a link between plant-based diet and anxiety or depression, either before or after adjustment for relevant factors.

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