Association of Quantity and Quality of Protein Intake with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms among Adolescent Boys and Girls (13–15 Years) Studying in Public Schools of Delhi

• Published in: Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 2020, Vol.66(Supplement), pp.S141-S148
• Main Authors: KHANNA, Preeti, AERI, Bani Tamber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adolescents; anxiety; depression; diet; nutritional psychiatry; protein
• ISSN: 0301-4800; 1881-7742
• DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.66.S141

Data on prevalence of mental health disorders indicates that 4.5% and 3% of the Indian population is suffering from depression and anxiety respectively. Research suggest that a poor quality diet (lacking in macro and micronutrients) may lead to deficiencies that are associated with depression and anxiety disorders. The present research was designed to study the prevalence & association of depression & anxiety with protein intake among adolescent boys and girls (aged 13–15 y) studying in public schools of Delhi. 546 adolescents participated in this cross-sectional study (selected from public schools in Delhi). For the assessment of depression and anxiety symptoms and dietary micronutrient deficiencies Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; administered to the parents) and 24 h recall and food frequency questionnaire (administered to the subjects) were used respectively. Adolescent Micronutrient Quality Index (AMQI) was further used to assess the protein quality of the diets. Prevalence of depression and anxiety were 33.5% and 27.47% respectively. Assessment of diets through AMQI revealed that low intake of protein rich foods like milk and legumes was significantly associated with higher mean scores of depression (p