title: Glycemic index, glycemic load, and common psychological disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Potential associations between dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) with psychological disorders remain uncertain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the relations of dietary GI and GL with psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 3363 nonacademic members of the staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were included in this cross-sectional study. GI and GL were assessed by using a validated, self-administered, dish-based, semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Validated Iranian versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12 were used to assess anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After control for potential confounders, individuals in the top tertile of GI had greater odds of depression (OR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.02; P-trend = 0.03) and a trend for greater odds of anxiety (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 0.97, 2.38; P trend = 0.06) compared with those in the first tertile. Higher GL values were linked to lower odds for mental disorders (OR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.90; P-trend = 0.009), depression (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.93; P-trend = 0.02), and psychological distress (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.92; P-trend = 0.01). Significant interactions were observed between GI and sex for depression (P = 0.01) and psychological distress (P = 0.046) in the crude model. In stratified analyses by sex, after control for potential confounders, a greater GI was linked to a higher odds of depression (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.94; P-trend = 0.001) and psychological distress (OR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.28, 2.14; P-trend = 0.001) in women but not in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings support a direct link between the odds of depression and dietary GI but inverse associations between GL and mental disorders, depression, and psychological distress. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02362113.
authors.affiliation: Food Security Research Center, Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science.
authors.forename: Fahimeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haghighatdoost
authors.affiliation: Food Security Research Center, Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; azadbakht@hlth.mui.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Azadbakht
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; and.
authors.forename: Ammar Hassanzadeh
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Keshteli
authors.affiliation: University of Adelaide Discipline of Medicine and National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence of Translating Nutritional Science to Good Health, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feinle-Bisset
authors.affiliation: Integrative Functional Gastroenterology Research Center, and.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daghaghzadeh
authors.affiliation: Integrative Functional Gastroenterology Research Center, and.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Afshar
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Epidemiology Department, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;
authors.forename: Awat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feizi
authors.affiliation: Food Security Research Center.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esmaillzadeh
authors.affiliation: Integrative Functional Gastroenterology Research Center, and.
authors.forename: Peyman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adibi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000378:metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D038321:Glycemic Index; D000067940:Glycemic Load; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates
keywords: anxiety; depression; glycemic index; glycemic load; psychological distress