Journal Article

Associations of Ultra-Processed Food Intake and Its Circulating Metabolomic Signature with Mental Disorders in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Deng, Xiaobei, Sun, Jinli, Hua, Li, Gu, Jiawei, Yuan, Shenghao, Zhu, Tengfei, Ran, Jinjun

2025

Overview

Background: The global rise in ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and the persistent burden of mental disorders have raised growing public health concerns. Emerging evidence suggests that unfavorable dietary patterns, particularly with high UPF intake, contribute to the development of mental disorders. Objective: To assess the associations of UPF-related metabolic signatures and mental disorders. Methods: In this population-based cohort study of 30,059 participants from the UK Biobank, we first identified a plasma metabolic signature associated with UPF intake leveraging nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics. We then applied Cox and logistic regression models to investigate the associations of both UPF consumption and its metabolic signature with incident mental disorders and specific psychological symptoms, respectively. Results: Higher UPF intake was significantly associated with increased risks of overall mental disorder (hazard ratio per 10% increment [95% confidence interval]: 1.04 [1.02, 1.06]), depressive disorder (1.14 [1.08, 1.20]), anxiety disorder (1.12 [1.06, 1.18]), and substance use disorder (1.06 [1.01, 1.11]), as well as several psychological symptoms including suicidal ideation (odds ratios [95% confidence interval]: 1.12 [1.03, 1.16]) and anxiety feeling (1.05 [1.01, 1.09]). Similarly, the UPF-related metabolic signature was independently associated with elevated risks of these mental health outcomes and partially mediated the associations between UPF intake and mental disorders. Conclusions: These findings highlighted the potential metabolic pathways underlying the neuropsychiatric risks of UPF consumption and underscored the importance of dietary quality in mental health.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Aged / Anxiety disorders / Biobanks / Body mass index / Cardiovascular disease / Cohort Studies / Diet - adverse effects / Drug use / Fast Foods - adverse effects / Female / Food habits / Food, Processed / Fruits / Humans / Male / Mediation / Medical research / Medicine, Experimental / Mental disorders / Mental Disorders - blood / Mental Disorders - epidemiology / Mental Disorders - etiology / Mental Disorders - metabolism / Mental health / Mental illness / Metabolism / Metabolites / Metabolome / Metabolomics / Middle Aged / NMR / Nuclear magnetic resonance / Observational studies / Processed foods / Public health / Questionnaires / Risk Factors / Substance use disorder / United Kingdom - epidemiology / Womens health