Association between dietary calcium and depression among American adults: National health and nutrition examination survey

Abstract

BackgroundThere is only limited evidence for an association between calcium (Ca) and depression, and the relationship was inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dietary Ca and the risk of depressive symptoms in individuals over the age of 18 in the US.MethodsWe extracted 14,971 participants from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2016 to probe their associations. Dietary Ca intake was measured through 24 h dietary recall method. Patients with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) ≥ 10 scores were believed to have depressive symptoms. The association between dietary Ca and depressive symptoms was investigated using multivariate logistic regression, sensitivity analysis, and restricted cubic spline regression.ResultsIn this study, 7.6% (1,144/14,971) of them had depressive symptoms. After adjusting for sex, age, race, poverty to income ratio (PIR), marital status, education, body mass index (BMI), caffeine intake, carbohydrates intake, total energy intake, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension, severe cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, serum vitamin D, serum Ca, and Ca supplement, the adjusted ORs value [95% confidence interval (CI)] of depression for the lowest category (Q1 ≤ 534 mg/day) vs. Q2–Q4 of Ca intake were 0.83 (0.69–0.99), 0.97 (0.65–0.95), and 0.80 (0.63–0.98) with the p for trend (p = 0.014). The relationship between dietary Ca intake and depressive symptoms was linear (non-linear p = 0.148). None of the interactions were significant except among races (p for interaction = 0.001).ConclusionAssociation between dietary Ca and the prevalence of depressive symptoms in US adults. And Ca intake was negatively associated with the risk of depressive symptoms. As Ca intake increased, the prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased.

Dietary calcium is inversely associated with hepatitis B virus infection: an analysis of US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2020

“…It is suggested that more attention should be paid to the intake of dietary calcium in daily diet, such as dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, green beans and so on [ 31 ]. It can be taken in combination with foods rich in vitamin D [ 32 ], and more sun exposure is also one of the ways to promote calcium absorption [ 19 ].…”

“…The assessment of dietary calcium was obtained from the 24-h dietary recall questionnaire which was self-reported by the participants. Then the USDA’s Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG) encoded the data and calculated dietary calcium content according to their Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies [ 19 ]. Blood samples were collected and stored in mobile devices by certified laboratory professionals.…”

Dietary Nutrient Deficiencies and Risk of Depression (Review Article 2018–2023)

“…Dietary deficiencies in magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, and manganese have been associated with a greater likelihood of depression [147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157][158][159][160]. Both excess and deficiency of copper and iron may affect the risk of depression [135,145,154,155].…”

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“…Calcium plays a crucial role in many aspects of human health, including the formation and metabolism of bones, the activation of clotting factors, and the regulation of blood pressure and nerve functions [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Dietary calcium deficiency is a worldwide public health concern [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”