title: A tomato-rich diet is related to depressive symptoms among an elderly population aged 70 years and over: a population-based, cross-sectional analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Enhanced oxidative stress or defective anti-oxidant defenses are related to the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms. Lycopene is the most powerful antioxidant amongst the carotenoids. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different vegetables, including tomatoes/tomato products (a major source of lycopene), and depressive symptoms in a community-based elderly population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed a cross-sectional survey including 986 community-dwelling elderly Japanese individuals aged 70 years and older. Dietary intake was assessed using a valid self-administered diet-history questionnaire, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale with 2 cut-off points: 11 (mild and severe) and 14 (severe) or use of anti-depressive agents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of mild and severe and severe depressive symptoms was 34.9% and 20.2%, respectively. After adjustments for potentially confounding factors, the odds ratios of having mild and severe depressive symptoms by increasing levels of tomatoes/tomato products were 1.00, 0.54, and 0.48 (p for trend <0.01). Similar relationships were also observed in the case of severe depressive symptoms. In contrast, no relationship was observed between intake of other kinds of vegetables and depressive symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a cross-sectional study, and not for making a clinical diagnosis of depressive episodes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that a tomato-rich diet is independently related to lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. These results suggest that a tomato-rich diet may have a beneficial effect on the prevention of depressive symptoms. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. nkj0809@gmail.com
authors: Kaijun
authors: K
authors: Niu
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Guo
authors: Masako
authors: M
authors: Kakizaki
authors: Yufei
authors: Y
authors: Cui
authors: Kaori
authors: K
authors: Ohmori-Matsuda
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Guan
authors: Atsushi
authors: A
authors: Hozawa
authors: Shinichi
authors: S
authors: Kuriyama
authors: Toru
authors: T
authors: Tsuboya
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Ohrui
authors: Katsutoshi
authors: K
authors: Furukawa
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Arai
authors: Ichiro
authors: I
authors: Tsuji
authors: Ryoichi
authors: R
authors: Nagatomi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D000077276:Lycopene; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002338:Carotenoids; D000077276:Lycopene