Journal of Nutrition and Food Security

en Adherence to the Healthy Eating Index-2015 and Its Association with Depression Score in A Sample of Iranian Adolescent Girls public specific orginal article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background:<a name="_Hlk95414044"> </a>Depression in adolescents is one of the major public health concerns that can affect educational attainment and social relationships and impose a high economic burden on society. Previous studies have provided limited information on the relationship between a healthy diet and depression in adolescents. The present study aimed to investigate the association of Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) with depression scores among adolescent girls. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 734 adolescent girls aged 12-18 years. Data on dietary intakes were collected using a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and diet quality was assessed based on HEI-2015. The Iranian validated version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to evaluate depression. To explore the association between HEI-2015 and depression, logistic regression was used in crude and adjusted models. Results: The prevalence of a high depression score in the study population was 33.8%.  After controlling for potential confounders, girls with the highest adherence to HEI-2015 compared to those with the lowest adherence had a 37% lower prevalence of depression (OR: 0.63; 95% CI 0.40 to 1.00, Ptrend=0.03). This finding remained significant after adjustment for confounding variables (age, energy intakes, physical activity, and BMI percentile). Conclusions: Greater adherence to HEI-2015 was associated with lower odds of depression in female adolescents. Prospective studies are necessary to confirm these results and clarify whether a causal relationship exists.  </div> Depression, Healthy eating index, HEI-2015, Diet quality, Adolescent 452 460 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-477-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sahar Mohseni-Takalloo 0000-0003-3297-4267 No 1Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Amin Salehi-Abargouei 0000-0002-7580-6717 No Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran Gordon A.Ferns 0000-0002-0957-8349 No Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Division of Medical Education, Falmer, Brighton, Sussex BN1 9PH, UK Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan 0000-0002-1081-6754 No Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Sayyed Saeid Khayyatzadeh khayyatzadeh@yahoo.com 0000-0002-9133-7340 Yes Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran