Association between diet and mental health in a nationally representative sample of Brazilian adolescent students: PeNSE 2012 and 2015.

According to the World Health Organization, mental health conditions are responsible for 16% of the global burden of illness and injury in people aged 10 to 19 years. Therefore, diet can be an interesting strategy for protecting the mental health of adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between food consumption and mental health symptoms in a sample of Brazilian adolescent students. Cross-sectional analyses of data from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012 and 2015) were used: the reported frequency of two mental health symptoms in the last month (loneliness and worried sleeping) and the weekly consumption of foods considered healthy (beans, vegetables, and fruits) and unhealthy (sausages). The analyses were performed using a logistic regression model, with Stata 14.2 software and a significance of 5% in survey mode. 109,104 students in the 9th grade of Elementary School responded to the questionnaire applied in 2012 and 102,301 in 2015. The results indicated that the consumption of vegetables and fruits at least once a week was associated with a reduction in the risk of feeling lonely by 7% (OR=0.93; CI=0.88-0.98) and 13% (OR=0.87; CI=0.82-0.91), respectively) and worried sleep (12% (OR=0.88; CI=0.83-0.93) and 13% (OR=0.87; CI=0.82-0.92), respectively), compared to those who did not consume. The consumption of beans stood out as a protective food for the mental health of young people, since the greater the consumption (three or five times or more per week), the greater the reduction in the risk of feeling lonely (11% (OR=0.89; CI=0.83-0.95); 36% (OR=0.64; CI=0.60-0.67), respectively), compared to those who did not consume.