Unsaturated fat intakes and mental health outcomes in young women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Heath

Objective To determine if associations exist between a range of unsaturated fatty acid intakes and mental health outcomes. Design Cross-sectional data analysis of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) Young Cohort Survey 3 that included the validated seventy-four-item Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies FFQ, validated mental health scales and self-report questions on depression and anxiety. Setting Australia, 2003. Subjects A nationally representative sample of young Australian women (25-30 years) from ALSWH. The 7635 women with plausible energy intakes (>45 but <200 MJ/d) were included in the analyses. Results Adjusted logistic regression analyses found statistically significant associations between higher intakes of -linolenic acid and decreased likelihood of depressive symptoms indicated by the ten-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10; OR=077; 95 % CI 060, 099; P=0040) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) mental health subscale (OR=073 95 % CI 056, 096; P=0024). Furthermore, higher intakes of n-6 fatty acids (OR=096, 95 % CI 093, 099; P=0019) and linoleic acid (OR=096, 95 % CI 093, 099; P=0020) were associated with decreased likelihood of self-reported diagnosed anxiety and higher intakes of n-9 fatty acids (OR=102, 95 % CI 100, 104; P=0041) and oleic acid (OR=102, 95 % CI 100, 105; P=0046) were associated with increased likelihood of self-reported diagnosed anxiety. Conclusions: Increased intakes of -linolenic acid were associated with a reduced likelihood of depressive symptoms, increased intakes of n-6 fatty acids and linoleic acid were associated with a reduced likelihood of self-reported anxiety, and increased intakes of n-9 fatty acids and oleic acid were associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety. Additional studies are needed to further elucidate associations between unsaturated fatty acids and depression and anxiety.