Top

European Journal of Nutrition

Published in:

01-04-2013 | Original Contribution

Dietary glycaemic load and odds of depression in a group of institutionalized elderly people without antidepressant treatment

Authors: A. Aparicio, F. Robles, A. M. López-Sobaler, R. M. Ortega

Published in: European Journal of Nutrition | Issue 3/2013

Abstract

Background

Depression is a very common disorder in elderly, especially in those institutionalized. Nutrition could play an important role in the onset and/or progression of depression, since the intake of carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index (GI) or diets with a high glycaemic load (GL) may increase the insulin-induced brain serotonin secretion.

Objective

The aim of our study was to analyse the association between dietary GI and GL and the odds of suffering depression in institutionalized elderly people without antidepressant treatment.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 140 institutionalized elderly people from the Madrid region (Spain) (65–90 years of age) whose diets were recorded using a precise weighing method over seven consecutive days. Energy and nutrient intakes were recorded and the GI and GL calculated. The participants’ affective capacity was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Subjects were grouped into non-depressed (GDS ≤ 5) and depressed (GDS > 5). Since GDS scores and gender were statistically associated (p < 0.01), the data were grouped considering this association.

Results

Dietary GI (51.09 ± 3.80) and GL (97.54 ± 13.46) were considered as medium. The dietary GL was significantly higher in the non-depressed (100.00 ± 12.13) compared with the depressed group (93.97 ± 14.04, p < 0.01). However, a similar GI was observed between non-depressed (51.50 ± 3.29) and depressed groups (50.52 ± 4.46). Additionally, participants with a dietary GL placed in the second and third tertiles had a 67.4 % and 65.3 %, respectively, less odds of suffering depression than those in the first tertile. GDS scores and dietary GL were inversely related; therefore, an increase in one unit in the dietary GL scale decreased the GDS score by 0.058 units.

Conclusions

Glyaemic load is associated with a lower odd of depression.

Burrows AB, Morris JN, Simon SE, Hirdes JP, Phillips C (2000) Development of a minimum data set-based depression rating scale for use in nursing homes. Age Ageing 29:165–172CrossRef

Murray CJ, Lopez AD (1997) Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990–2020: Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet 349:1498–1504CrossRef

Belmaker RH, Agam G (2008) Major depressive disorder. N Engl J Med 358:55–68CrossRef

Tolmunen T, Voutilainen S, Hintikka J, Rissanen T, Tanskanen A, Viinamaki H, Kaplan GA, Salonen JT (2003) Dietary folate and depressive symptoms are associated in middle-aged Finnish men. J Nutr 133:3233–3236

Rosenthal NE, Genhart MJ, Caballero B, Jacobsen FM, Skwerer RG, Coursey RD, Rogers S, Spring BJ (1989) Psychobiological effects of carbohydrate- and protein-rich meals in patients with seasonal affective disorder and normal controls. Biol Psychiatry 25:1029–1040CrossRef

Wurtman RJ, Wurtman JJ (1989) Carbohydrates and depression. Sci Am 260:68–75CrossRef

Wurtman RJ, Wurtman JJ, Regan MM, McDermott JM, Tsay RH, Breu JJ (2003) Effects of normal meals rich in carbohydrates or proteins on plasma tryptophan and tyrosine ratios. Am J Clin Nutr 77:128–132

Christensen L, Somers S (1996) Comparison of nutrient intake among depressed and nondepressed individuals. Int J Eat Disord 20:5–9CrossRef

Mwamburi DM, Liebson E, Folstein M, Bungay K, Tucker KL, Qiu WQ (2011) Depression and glycemic intake in the homebound elderly. J Affect Disord 132:94–98CrossRef

10.

Murakami K, Miyake Y, Sasaki S, Tanaka K, Yokoyama T, Ohya Y, Fukushima W, Kiyohara C, Hirota Y (2008) Dietary glycemic index and load and the risk of postpartum depression in Japan: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. J Affect Disord 110:174–179CrossRef

11.

Foster-Powell K, Holt SH, Brand-Miller JC (2002) International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values. Am J Clin Nutr 76:5–56

12.

Fernstrom MH (1989) Depression, antidepressants, and body weight change. Ann N Y Acad Sci 575:31–39; discussion 39–40

13.

Murakami K, Sasaki S, Takahashi Y, Okubo H, Hosoi Y, Horiguchi H, Oguma E, Kayama F (2006) Dietary glycemic index and load in relation to metabolic risk factors in Japanese female farmers with traditional dietary habits. Am J Clin Nutr 83:1161–1169

14.

Barclay AW, Brand-Miller JC, Wolever TM (2005) Glycemic index, glycemic load, and glycemic response are not the same. Diabetes Care 28:1839–1840CrossRef

15.

Benton D, Donohoe RT (1999) The effects of nutrients on mood. Public Health Nutr 2:403–409CrossRef

16.

Kimura S (2003) Glycemic carbohydrate and health: background and synopsis of the symposium. Nutr Rev 61:S1–S4CrossRef

17.

Jacob RJ, Fan X, Evans ML, Dziura J, Sherwin RS (2002) Brain glucose levels are elevated in chronically hyperglycemic diabetic rats: no evidence for protective adaptation by the blood brain barrier. Metabolism 51:1522–1524CrossRef

18.

Alexopoulos GS, Meyers BS, Young RC, Campbell S, Silbersweig D, Charlson M (1997) Vascular depression hypothesis. Arc Gen. Psychiatry 59:785–792

19.

Krishnan KR, Hays JC, Blazer DG (1997) MRI-defined vascular depression. Am J Psychiatry 154:497–501

20.

Leibowitz SF, Brown O, Tretter JR, Kirschgessner A (1985) Norepinephrine, clonidine, and tricyclic antidepressants selectively stimulate carbohydrate ingestion through noradrenergic system of the paraventricular nucleus. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 23:541–550CrossRef

21.

WHO (1995) Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. World Health Organization, Geneva

22.

Birch LL (1999) Development of food preferences. Annu Rev Nutr 19:41–62CrossRef

23.

Ortega RM, Povea FI (2000) Questionnaires for dietetic studies and the assessment of nutritional status. In: Requejo AM Ortega RM (ed) Nutriguía. Manual of clinical nutrition in primary care. Editorial Complutense, Madrid, pp 335–345

24.

Ortega RM, López-Sobaler AM, Andrés P, Requejo AM, Aparicio A, Molinero LM (2004) DIAL software for assessing diets and food calculations. Departamento de Nutrición (UCM) and Alce Ingeniería, S.A. Madrid. http://www.alceingenieria.net/nutricion.htm. Accessed 10 of February 2012

25.

Ortega RM, López-Sobaler AM, Requejo AM, Andrés P (2010) Food composition. A basic tool for assessing nutritional status, Editorial Complutense, Madrid

26.

Ortega RM, Navia B, López-Sobaler AM (2010) Recommended daily intakes of energy and nutrients for the Spanish population. Food composition. A basic tool for assessing nutritional status. Editorial Complutense, Madrid, In, pp 82–84

27.

Chew I, Brand JC, Thorburn AW, Truswell AS (1988) Application of glycemic index to mixed meals. Am J Clin Nutr 47:53–56

28.

Wolever TM, Jenkins DJ, Jenkins AL, Josse RG (1991) The glycemic index: methodology and clinical implications. Am J Clin Nutr 54:846–854

29.

WHO (1985) Requirements of energy and proteins. Report of a joint FAO/WHO/ONU expert consultation, World Health Organization: Geneva. Technical report series 724:71–80

30.

Dallosso HM, Morgan K, Bassey EJ, Ebrahim SB, Fentem PH, Arie TH (1988) Levels of customary physical activity among the old and the very old living at home. J Epidemiol Community Health 42:121–127CrossRef

31.

Ortega RM, Requejo AM, Andres P, López-Sobaler AM, Quintas ME, Redondo MR, Navia B, Rivas T (1997) Dietary intake and cognitive function in a group of elderly people. Am J Clin Nutr 66:803–809

32.

Black AE, Goldberg GR, Jebb SA, Livingstone MB, Cole TJ, Prentice AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology: 2. Evaluating the results of published surveys. Eur J Clin Nutr 45:583–599

33.

Johnson RK, Goran MI, Poehlman ET (1994) Correlates of over- and underreporting of energy intake in healthy older men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 59:1286–1290

34.

Mahoney FI, Barthel DW (1965) Functional Evaluation: The Barthel Index. Md State Med J 14:61–65

35.

Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR (1975) “Mini-mental state”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 12:189–198CrossRef

36.

Lobo A, Ezquerra J (1979) El Mini-Mental cognoscitivo: un test sencillo y práctico para detectar alteraciones intelectivas en pacientes médicos. Actas Luso-Esp. Neurol Psyquiatr 3:5

37.

Roth M, Tym E, Mountjoy CQ, Huppert FA, Hendrie H, Verma S, Goddard R (1986) CAMDEX. A standardised instrument for the diagnosis of mental disorder in the elderly with special reference to the early detection of dementia. Br J Psychiatry 149:698–709CrossRef

38.

Llinas J, Vilalta J, López S (1991) CAMDEX: Adaptación y validación españolas. Áncora S.A, Barcelona

39.

Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL, Lum O, Huang V, Adey M, Leirer VO (1982) Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 17:37–49CrossRef

40.

Pérez E, González MA, Moraleda P, Szuker S, González JA (1990) La geriatric depression scale (GDS) como instrumento para la evaluación de la depresión: bases de la misma. Modificaciones introducidas y adaptación a la realidad psicogeriátrica española. Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontolología 25:173–180

41.

Willet WC (1989) Nutr Epidemiol. Oxford University Press, New York

42.

Brand-Miller JC, Thomas M, Swan V, Ahmad ZI, Petocz P, Colagiuri S (2003) Physiological validation of the concept of glycemic load in lean young adults. J Nutr 133:2728–2732

43.

Monro JA, Shaw M (2008) Glycemic impact, glycemic glucose equivalents, glycemic index, and glycemic load: definitions, distinctions, and implications. Am J Clin Nutr 87:237S–243S

44.

Faci M, Navia B, Perea JM, Robles F, López-Sobaler AM, Ortega RM (2003) Hábitos alimentarios de un colectivo de ancianos no institucionalizados. Diferencias en función de su estado afectivo. Rev Esp Nutr Comunitaria 9:34–38

45.

Stek ML, Gussekloo J, Beekman AT, van Tilburg W, Westendorp RG (2004) Prevalence, correlates and recognition of depression in the oldest old: the Leiden 85-plus study. J Affect Disord 78:193–200CrossRef

46.

Wada T, Ishine M, Sakagami T, Okumiya K, Fujisawa M, Murakami S, Otsuka K, Yano S, Kita T, Matsubayashi K (2004) Depression in Japanese community-dwelling elderly–prevalence and association with ADL and QOL. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 39:15–23CrossRef

47.

Marcus SM, Young EA, Kerber KB, Kornstein S, Farabaugh AH, Mitchell J, Wisniewski SR, Balasubramani GK, Trivedi MH, Rush AJ (2005) Gender differences in depression: findings from the STAR*D study. J Affect Disord 87:141–150CrossRef

48.

Kyrozis A, Psaltopoulou T, Stathopoulos P, Trichopoulos D, Vassilopoulos D, Trichopoulou A (2009) Dietary lipids and geriatric depression scale score among elders: the EPIC-Greece cohort. J Psychiatr Res 43:763–769CrossRef

49.

Oishi J, Doi H, Kawakami N (2009) Nutrition and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling elderly persons in Japan. Acta Med Okayama 63:9–17

50.

Pellegrin KL, O′Neil PM, Stellfson EJ (1998) Average daily nutrient intake and mood among obese women. Nutr Res 18:1103–1112CrossRef

51.

van Rossum CT, van de Mheen H, Witteman JC, Grobbee E, Mackenbach JP (2000) Education and nutrient intake in Dutch elderly people. The Rotterdam Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 54:159–165CrossRef

52.

Volkert D, Kreuel K, Heseker H, Stehle P (2004) Energy and nutrient intake of young-old, old-old and very-old elderly in Germany. Eur J Clin Nutr 58:1190–1200CrossRef

53.

Scaglioni S, Sala M, Stival G, Giroli M, Raimondi C, Salvioni M, Radaelli G, Agostoni C, Riva E, Giovannini M (2005) Dietary glycemic load and macronutrient intake in healthy Italian children. Asia Pac J Public Health 17:88–92CrossRef

54.

Venn BJ, Green TJ (2007) Glycemic index and glycemic load: measurement issues and their effect on diet-disease relationships. Eur J Clin Nutr 61 Suppl 1:S122–S131CrossRef

55.

Crawford GB, Khedkar A, Flaws JA, Sorkin JD, Gallicchio L (2011) Depressive symptoms and self-reported fast-food intake in midlife women. Prev Med 52:254–257

56.

Hu Y, Block G, Norkus EP, Morrow JD, Dietrich M, Hudes M (2006) Relations of glycemic index and glycemic load with plasma oxidative stress markers. Am J Clin Nutr 84:70–76; quiz 266–267

57.

Barclay AW, Petocz P, McMillan-Price J, Flood VM, Prvan T, Mitchell P, Brand-Miller JC (2008) Glycemic index, glycemic load, and chronic disease risk–a meta-analysis of observational studies. Am J Clin Nutr 87:627–637

58.

Trone RJ, Weaver KG, Steffens DC, Payne ME (2009) Glycemic index and glycemic load are not associated with brain lesions in the elderly. J Nutr Health Aging 13:117–120CrossRef

59.

Murakami K, Miyake Y, Sasaki S, Tanaka K, Fukushima W, Kiyohara C, Tsuboi Y, Yamada T, Oeda T, Miki T, Kawamura N, Sakae N, Fukuyama H, Hirota Y, Nagai M (2010) Dietary glycemic index is inversely associated with the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a case-control study in Japan. Nutrition 26:515–521CrossRef

60.

de Castro JM (1987) Macronutrient relationships with meal patterns and mood in the spontaneous feeding behavior of humans. Physiol Behav 39:561–569CrossRef

Title: Dietary glycaemic load and odds of depression in a group of institutionalized elderly people without antidepressant treatment
Authors: A. Aparicio
F. Robles
A. M. López-Sobaler
R. M. Ortega
Publication date: 01-04-2013
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Nutrition / Issue 3/2013
Print ISSN: 1436-6207
Electronic ISSN: 1436-6215
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0412-7

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Dietary glycaemic load and odds of depression in a group of institutionalized elderly people without antidepressant treatment

Abstract

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2013

Differential effects of high-fat-diet rich in lard oil or soybean oil on osteopontin expression and inflammation of adipose tissue in diet-induced obese rats

Vitamin D status indicators in indigenous populations in East Africa

Dietary supplementation with geranylgeraniol suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation via inhibition of nuclear factor-κB activation in rats

The polyphenol-rich extracts from black chokeberry and grape seeds impair changes in the platelet adhesion and aggregation induced by a model of hyperhomocysteinemia

Implications of maternal vitamin D deficiency for the fetus, the neonate and the young infant

Erratum to: A glucosinolate-rich extract of Japanese Daikon perturbs carcinogen-metabolizing enzyme systems in rat, being a potent inducer of hepatic glutathione S-transferase

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page