Psychological distress, gender and dietary factors in South Asians: a cross-sectional survey

Objective: Psychological distress, defined as symptoms of depression and anxiety, is an increasingly important public health issue in developing countries. Little is known about the extent to which adverse dietary factors are associated with psychological distress in South Asians. Our aim was to compare the associations of diet and psychological distress in men and women in Goa, India. Design: Cross-sectional study of consecutive attendees in nine urban and rural general practices in Goa, India in 2004-2005. All participants completed an FFQ on their dietary intake in a typical week. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a WHO-validated screening instrument. Results: Consecutive attendees (n 1512; 601 men and 911 women) aged 30 to 75 years participated. Moderate and high scores of psychological distress were detected in significantly more women than men (eighty-eight men v. 264 women, unadjusted OR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.29, 0.52). Those who ate one or more portions of fish weekly had nearly half the prevalence of distress in both sexes (women, OR = 0.52; 95% CI 0.29, 0.91; men, OR = 0.50; 95% CI 0.25, 0.99) and this was independent of age, marital status, education, income, religion and living alone. Conclusions: Psychological distress is significantly lower with fish intake in both sexes. Further longitudinal work is needed to establish temporal relationships. Addressing psychological distress is becoming an increasingly significant public health priority in both high- and low-income countries.