Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health

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Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2017, Pages 81 - 89

Ecological correlations of dietary food intake and mental health disorders

Authors
Jordan Hoerra, *, jhoerr2@uic.edu, Joshua Fogelb, c, Benjamin Van Voorheesc
aCollege of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
bDepartment of Business Management, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, USA
cDepartment of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
*Corresponding author at: College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 South Wood Street (MC 856), Chicago, IL 60612-7324, USA.
Corresponding Author
Jordan Hoerrjhoerr2@uic.edu
Received 9 December 2015, Revised 3 October 2016, Accepted 1 December 2016, Available Online 18 December 2016.
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2016.12.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Omega-3 fatty acids; Sugar; Mental health; Epidemiology
Abstract

This paper examines the ecological association of dietary food intake with mental health outcomes on the group level across countries. Published data from the World Mental Health Survey were used to compare lifetime prevalence of four categories of mental health disorders (anxiety disorders, mood disorders, impulse control disorders, and substance use disorders) with a country’s fish/seafood and sugar/sweetener supply quantity using the Spearman rank correlation. Data were compared for 17 countries across the world. Sugar and sweetener supply quantity was significantly and positively associated with anxiety disorders (rho = 0.75, p = 0.001), mood disorders (rho = 0.75, p = 0.001), impulse control disorders (rho = 0.78, p = 0.001), and substance use disorders (rho = 0.68, p = 0.007). Fish and seafood supply quantity had no significant association with any mental health disorders. Mental health disorders represent a significant health problem around the world. Public health measures aimed at improving the quality and availability of a nation’s food supply could have a significant positive impact on mental health. Further randomized studies are needed to further validate the study findings.

Copyright
© 2016 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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<Previous Article In Issue
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Journal
Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue
7 - 1
Pages
81 - 89
Publication Date
2016/12/18
ISSN (Online)
2210-6014
ISSN (Print)
2210-6006
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2016.12.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2016 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jordan Hoerr
AU  - Joshua Fogel
AU  - Benjamin Van Voorhees
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/12/18
TI  - Ecological correlations of dietary food intake and mental health disorders
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 81
EP  - 89
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2016.12.001
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.12.001
ID  - Hoerr2016
ER  -