2023-06-05 11:33:58
Chocolate bars, biscuits, prepared meals, chicken nuggets… The preparation of ultra-processed foods requires the use of several processing methods and additives that will modify their texture, their flavor, their shelf life… Several studies have already established a link between their consumption and metabolic diseases or cancers. A new study attests this time to a link with the recurrence of depressive symptoms.
High consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and cancer. A new study shows that mental health would not be spared. An association has just been established between these products – when consumed in large quantities – and the risk of recurrence of symptoms of depression. The team of Tasnime Akbaraly, Inserm researcher at the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in Paris, is behind this work. She has been working on the links between diet and mental health for fifteen years and has already shown that an unbalanced diet, particularly of the “Western” type, rich in fatty acids and low in fruits and vegetables, is associated with an increased risk of depression. This time, she conducted her investigations by looking at the effect of ultra-processed foods. Fact, ” it has been shown that these products promote oxidative stress and inflammation, and that they modify the intestinal microbiota or even the expression of the genome. It is therefore not excluded that they have an impact on mental health, known to be sensitive to these different factors. », explains the researcher.
The team used data from the Whitehall II cohort, which includes British civil servants aged 35 to 55, recruited between 1985 and 1988. The participants’ depressive symptoms and their possible use of antidepressant medication were repeatedly assessed , four times between 2002 and 2016. In parallel, the amount of ultra-processed food they consumed between 1991 and 2004 was estimated from self-administered food questionnaires, combined with the use of the NOVA classification, which distinguishes foods according to their level of processing. For each participant, the researchers calculated the proportion of ultra-processed foods in their total daily intake. They were then able to divide them into five groups (five “quintiles”) of equivalent size, reflecting five levels of consumption of ultra-processed foods in the cohort. Finally, the researchers studied the recurrence of their possible depressive symptoms during the 13 years of follow-up. In total, this analysis involved 4,554 participants (including 74% men).
A risk increased by almost a third
The researchers found a significant association between a high consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of recurrence of depressive symptoms during the follow-up of the cohort.Participants who ate the most ultra-processed foods (a third of their total intake) had 30% increased risk of having recurrent episodes of depressive symptoms, compared with participants whose share of ultra-processed foods in daily intake was less than one-fifth. ” This association is independent of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits or the overall health of individuals.said Tasnime Akbaraly. Furthermore, our analyzes show that taking into account the share of ultra-processed products in the diet leads to a substantial attenuation of the association between the quality of an individual’s diet and their risk of depressive symptoms..
For authors, these results highlight the importance of paying particular attention to the consumption of ultra-processed products in future studies on the links between diet and mental health. Moreover, these observations are a real invitation to specifically explore the effect on mental health of different food processing processes, additives, emulsifiers and preservatives or even packaging. Waiting for, ” these ultra-processed products are already strongly discouraged by the public authorities, who recommend cooking foods yourself in their most natural form: vegetables, meat, fish, wholemeal flour, etc. This work further reinforces the relevance of the message. Let’s not forget that mental health is now a public health priority, especially in the context of an increase in depressive disorders since the Covid-19 pandemic, especially among young people. », concludes Tasnime Akbaraly.
Aliments ultra-transformés, de quoi s’agit-il ? Les produits ultra-transformés sont des préparations alimentaires emballées, prêtes à l’emploi, présentées comme pratiques et rapides à consommer. C’est par exemple le cas des charcuteries avec nitrites, des nouilles instantanées, des nuggets de poulet et autres bâtonnets de poisson, des galettes de légumes, des boissons lactées aromatisées, des pains, brioches ou gâteaux industriels et autres barres chocolatées… Ces aliments peuvent être assez éloignés de la matière première dont ils sont issus. Leur préparation nécessite en effet d’importantes transformations physiques, chimiques ou biologiques, obtenues par différents procédés, ainsi que l’ajout d’additifs de type émulsifiants, exhausteurs ou encore antioxydants, pour modifier leur texture, leur goût ou leur durée de conservation… Rien de tout cela n’existe en cuisine et les conséquences sur la santé de ces transformations et adjonctions font actuellement l’objet d’évaluations. En outre, ces produits sont souvent riches en sucres et en sel et affichent dans 80 % des cas des Nutri-Scores moyens ou défavorables (C, D ou E). Plusieurs études ont déjà établi un lien entre leur consommation importante et plusieurs maladies métaboliques, ainsi que des cancers.
Tasnime Akbaraly is a researcher in the Developmental Psychiatry and Trajectories team, at the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (unit 1018 Inserm/Paris-Saclay University/UVSQ) in Paris.
Source : H Arshad et al. Association between ultra-processed foods and recurrence of depressive symptoms : the Whitehall II cohort study. Nutr Neurosci, 29 mars 2023 ; doi : 10.1080/1028415X.2022.2157927
Source: Inserm, June 5, 2023
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