Association of Prebiotic and Probiotic Food Consumption with Depression, Anxiety and Stress among College Going Students

Adolescents are more susceptible to mental health conditions due to multiple physical, emotional and social changes occurring during this phase. The prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety is rising at an alarming rate in adolescents. Dietary intake has the potential to affect the mental state of an individual which is largely dependent on gut microflora composition. The study thus aims to find the influence of prebiotic and probiotic intake on mental disorders among students. A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted among 404 college students from India. Data has been collected using convenience sampling and an online structured Google Questionnaire Form. DASS-42 questionnaire was used for collecting information on levels of depression, anxiety and stress and a validated qualitative food frequency questionnaire consisting of 13 food groups with 39 unique food items was used for understanding consumption patterns of prebiotic / probiotic foods. The findings revealed the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress to be 56.7%, 64.1% and 52% respectively. Consumption of probiotic foods was low except for milk/milk products, vegetables, fruits, wheat / wheat products, biscuits, chocolate and methai. Yogurt and pickles were consumed frequently whereas consumption of miso paste, tausi and yakult were low. Lower consumption of a few prebiotic and probiotic foods was negatively associated with depression, anxiety and stress. This study underlines the beneficial impact of consuming prebiotic and probiotic food on mental health of college going students. Future studies are needed to generate robust evidence for advocating consumption of prebiotic and probiotic food as a preventive and therapeutic measure for promoting mental health.