Personality, dietary identity, mental and sleep health in vegans and vegetarians: A preliminary cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Background and AimsPlant‐based diets have gained popularity over the past decade. However, research regarding mental and sleep health benefits of following plant‐based diets are conflicting. As there are associations between mental/sleep health and various personality traits, and personality may differ between individuals who follow different diets, in this preliminary study, we examined the associations between mental and sleep health and (i) personality and (ii) dietary identity in individuals who follow vegan and vegetarian diets.MethodsCross‐sectional data on sociodemographic, personality traits, dietarian identity, overall mental health, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality were collected from 57 vegan/vegetarian participants between the ages of 18–40.ResultsAfter controlling for various sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, linear regression models revealed that (i) higher dietarian private regard was a significant predictor of better overall mental health, (ii) lower levels of extraversion and higher levels of empathy predicted depression, (iii) higher levels of neuroticism and empathy predicted anxiety, (iv) higher levels of neuroticism, dietarian centrality, and neuroticism × centrality predicted stress, (v) higher levels of conscientiousness, lower levels of dietarian centrality, but higher levels of personal motivation and dietary strictness, as well as conscientiousness × centrality, conscientiousness × personal motivation, and conscientiousness × strictness predicted better sleep quality.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings suggest that not only personality traits, but also dietary identity was indeed related to mental and sleep health in individuals who follow plant‐based diets.

A Narrative Review of the Association Between Healthy Dietary Patterns and Depression

“…However, more studies found an increased risk of depression in vegetarians [41][42][43][44]8], whereas others found no association [45][46][47], or that a vegetarian diet may be beneficial for depression [48]. Evidence regarding the association of vegetarians and diet with depression is conflicting [49]. The study found that vegetarian men exhibited a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms and nutritional deficiencies in iron or cobalamin, which may be a contributing factor.…”

“…However, the exclusion of any food group has been associated with an increased risk of depression. This suggests that there may be an association between depression and the exclusion of any food group, Inventory (BFI); Empathy Quotient 10 (EQ-10); DASS; Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scales (WEMWBS); Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Dietarian Identity Questionnaire (DIQ); EPIC Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) These preliminary findings suggest that not only personality traits, but also plant-based diets have been associated with better mental health Coxon et al, 2023[49]…”