ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: recent studies suggest that low serum levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 are associated with a higher prevalence of depression. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate whether low consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in a sample of college students from the Northwest of Mexico, and to assess the potential effect modification by alcohol consumption. METHODS: we conducted a cross-sectional study in a sample of 706 college students (males and females) aged 18 to 24. The presence of depressive symptoms was identified with the Depression Scale of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES-D), using a cutoff point of ≥ 24. The intake of omega-3 was obtained by a food frequency questionnaire validated for Mexican population. We estimated the weekly intake of alpha-linolenic fatty acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) derived from the diet in mg/g of food. The association between omega-3 from diet and the presence of depressive symptoms was assessed using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: 67% of the participants were females; 16.6% were classified as having depressive symptoms. A low intake of ALA and EPA + DHA was not associated with depressive symptoms before and after adjusting for confounders. Median levels of ALA (from nuts only) were significantly lower among those with depressive symptoms compared to those without these symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: in this population of Mexican college students, a low intake of omega-3 fatty acids was not associated with depressive symptoms. The potential association between nut consumption and depressive symptoms deserve more attention.
Introducción: estudios recientes sugieren que los niveles bajos de acidos grasos poliinsaturados omega-3 se relacionan con una mayor prevalencia de depresion; sin embargo, los resultados no son concluyentes. Objetivo: evaluar la asociacion entre el bajo consumo de acidos grasos omega-3 y la presencia de sintomas depresivos en jovenes universitarios del noroeste de Mexico. Métodos: se realizo un estudio transversal en una muestra de 706 universitarios de 18 a 24 anos de edad de ambos sexos. La presencia de sintomatologia depresiva se estimo con la escala de Depresion del Centro de Estudios Epidemiologicos (CES-D) empleando un punto de corte ≥ 24. El consumo semanal de acidos grasos alfalinolenico (ALA) y de eicosapentaenoico (EPA) mas docosahexaenoico (DHA) en mg/g de alimento se estimo por medio de un cuestionario de frecuencia de consumo de alimentos validado para la poblacion mexicana. La asociacion del consumo de omega-3 con la presencia de sintomas depresivos se evaluo con modelos de regresion logistica. Resultados: el 67% de los participantes fueron mujeres; en general, el 16,6% presentaron sintomatologia depresiva. El consumo bajo de ALA y EPA + DHA no se asocio con mayor prevalencia de sintomatologia depresiva antes y despues de ajustar por confusores. En aquellos casos con sintomatologia depresiva, los niveles ALA derivados solo de las nueces fueron significativamente menores. Conclusiones: en esta poblacion no se observo asociacion entre el bajo consumo de acidos grasos omega-3 y la sintomatologia depresiva. La posible asociacion entre el consumo de nueces y la sintomatologia depresiva requiere de mas estudios.
