Evaluating the Relationship between Inflammatory Load of a Diet and Depression in Young Adults

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and depression. The study was carried out with 134 female university students staying in dormitory. The data were collected using questionnaire form. The questionnaire contains socio-demographic information, physical activity, anthropometric measurements, depression scale, and the 3-day food intake record. The DII score was calculated based on the food intake record form. It was found that 56 of the participants did not have any depression symptoms. The participants' mean DII scores were 0.76 +/- 0.59 and they were found to have a pro-inflammatory dietary pattern. The third-tertile depression score was 56.3 +/- 8.6, which was statistically higher than the others (p < 0.05). Upon modeling, a significant association between high DII scores and increased odds of incidence DepS was observed (odds ratio (OR) = 2.90; 95% CI = 1.51-5.98). Finally there is a need to conduct cohort studies to identify DII scores of the individuals in our country, investigate the relationship between these scores and depression, and establish a cause and effect relationship.