Fruit and vegetable consumption and depression symptoms in young women: results from 1973 to 1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

PURPOSE: Growing evidence suggests that specific food groups may play an important role in improving mental health. However, very few studies explored the association between individual dietary factors and depression symptoms by following a large cohort of individuals over a long period. We examined the differential effects of fruit and vegetables in relation to depression symptoms over a 15-year follow-up period in the 1973–78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. METHODS: Fruit and vegetable consumption was assessed using short questions. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-10 scale with a cut off ≥ 10 indicated depressive symptoms. Multiple imputations with generalised estimating equations models were performed to estimate odds ratio of depression symptoms according to fruit and vegetable consumption. RESULTS: A total of 4241 participants with a mean age of 27.6 (SD 1.45) years at baseline were followed up at five surveys (2003–2018). Fruit and vegetable intake (≥ 2 servings) was cross-sectionally associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms. In longitudinal analysis, a higher intake of fruit (≥ 4 servings) and vegetable (≥ 5 servings) was consistently associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, with a 25% lower odds (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.57, 0.97; p = 0.031) and a 19% lower odds (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.70, 0.94; p = 0.007) than consuming one serve or less fruit and vegetable, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a higher intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of depression symptoms over 15 years from a population-based prospective study of Australian women. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00394-022-02926-8.