Abstract

Purpose:

Higher total fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes have been associated with lower perceived stress. The relationship between specific types of FV and perceived stress remains uncertain. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to explore the relationship between consumption of specific types of FV with perceived stress in a population-based cohort of men and women aged ≥ 25 years from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) Study.

Methods:

Dietary intake was assessed using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (n = 8,640). Perceived stress was evaluated using a validated Perceived Stress Questionnaire, with values ranging 0–1 (lowest to highest). High perceived stress cut-offs of ≥ 0.34 for men and ≥ 0.39 for women were obtained from the highest quartile of the perceived stress score for each sex. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was performed to investigate the associations.

Results:

The mean age of participants (50.1% females) was 47.8 (SD 15) years. Persons in the highest, versus lowest, quartiles of apples and pears, orange and other citrus, and banana intakes had a significantly lower odds (24–31%) of having high perceived stress. Similarly, persons with higher intakes of cruciferous, yellow/orange/red, and legume vegetables had significantly lower odds (25–27%) of having high perceived stress.

Conclusion:

In Australian adults, a higher consumption of apples and pears, oranges and other citrus, and bananas, as well as cruciferous, yellow/orange/red, and legume vegetables were associated with lower odds of having high perceived stress. The recommendations of “eating a rainbow” of colours may assist in preventing and/or reducing perceived stress.

RAS ID

43562

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2022

Funding Information

National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding information :

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-02848-5

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences / Institute for Nutrition Research / School of Arts and Humanities

Grant Number

NHMRC Numbers : 1172987, 1116973, 1173952

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

Springer

Comments

Radavelli-Bagatini, S., Sim, M., Blekkenhorst, L. C., Bondonno, N. P., Bondonno, C. P., Woodman, R., . . . Lewis, J. R. (2022). Associations of specific types of fruit and vegetables with perceived stress in adults: The AusDiab study. European Journal of Nutrition, 61, 2929-2938. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-02848-5

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1007/s00394-022-02848-5