Egg consumption reduces the risk of depressive symptoms in the elderly: findings from a 6-year cohort study

Abstract

Background Accumulating evidence showed that dietary habits might modify the risk of depression. This study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal association of egg consumption with depressive symptoms in the Chinese elderly. Methods We analyzed the data from Zhejiang Ageing and Health Cohort Study including 8289 participants. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms at baseline and three waves of follow-up (2015, 2016, and 2019–2020). A PHQ-9 cut-off score ≥ 5 was used to define depressive symptoms. The participants with depressive symptoms at baseline were excluded. Egg consumption was evaluated through the diet habits section of the baseline questionnaire. Self-reported egg consumption was measured as the number of eggs per week and categorized into three categories. Log-binomial regression models with Generalized Estimating Equations were utilized to evaluate the association of egg consumption with depressive symptoms and estimate relative risks (RRs). Results The mean age of included participants was 68.6 years. After 6 years of follow-up, 1385 (16.7%) participants were indicated with depressive symptoms by PHQ-9 at least once. Compared with non-consumers or less-than-weekly consumers, participants consuming < 3 eggs/week and ≥ 3 eggs/week had 30% (RR = 0.70, 95%CI 0.62–0.80) and 38% (RR = 0.62, 95%CI 0.54–0.71) lower risks of depressive symptoms, respectively. A linear association was confirmed (P for trend < 0.01), and each egg increment per week was associated with a 4% lower risk of depressive symptoms (RR = 0.96, 95%CI 0.93–0.99). Sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results to the main analyses. Conclusions Egg consumption is prospectively related to a lower risk of depressive symptoms in the Chinese elderly. More prospective studies are needed to verify the association.

Association of dietary patterns with anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

“…In single-food group studies, an increased consumption of nuts may serve as a preventative measure against the development of depression [28]. Egg consumption may be associated with a reduced likelihood of experiencing symptoms related to depression [29]. Different varieties of milk and the nutritional composition of dairy products can have varying impacts on symptoms associated with depression.…”

Limitations and recommendations regarding the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in illiterate and low educated older adults

“…When assessing potential memory impairment reflecting pathological changes in (functional) illiterate/uneducated or low educated older adults, however, we should bear in mind that the MMSE/MMSE-2 score is not a shortcut toward a dementia diagnosis (Song et al, 2020). In fact, even recent studies (which have used an educationspecific cut-off point) have utilized the MMSE score as the only diagnostic criterion determining cognitive impairment and have based the selection/categorization of their participants solely on performance on this test (Li et al, 2023a;Li et al, 2023b;Sun & Zhang, 2023). Another argument that the MMSE is still frequently used in individuals with or without schooling concerns the fact that new MMSE normative data have recently emerged in many countries.…”