Prenatal depression is prevalent and adversely impacts maternal and infant health. This study addresses a critical literature gap and investigates the association between maternal diet quality and prenatal depressive symptoms, as well as the moderating effect of economic well-being on this link. A cross-sectional design was used, including 43 healthy pregnant women in the second trimester aggregated from two research projects. Prenatal depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Dietary quality was evaluated using two non-consecutive 24 h dietary recalls, from which the Adapted Dietary Inflammatory Index (ADII) and the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 were derived. Economic well-being was indicated by the income-to-poverty ratio. A higher HEI-2015 (adherence to dietary guidelines; β = −0.53, p = 0.01) and negative ADII (anti-inflammatory diet; β = 0.40, p = 0.06) were associated with fewer prenatal depressive symp-toms. Among pregnant women with worse economic well-being, a pro-inflammatory diet was as-sociated with more prenatal depressive symptoms (b = 1.69, p = 0.004), but among those with better economic well-being, the association was not significant (b = 0.51, p = 0.09). Dietary interventions aimed at reducing dietary inflammation might hold some promise for improving mental health among pregnant women who are economically vulnerable.
Objective Acculturative stress, often experienced by members of minority groups, is related to problematic eating behaviors. What remains poorly understood is the function of perceived social support in this link. This study evaluated the moderating role of perceived support from family, the significant other, and friends in the association between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors, including emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, and cognitive restraint eating. Method An online cross‐sectional study was conducted with 497 Asian and Latinx college students using standardized questionnaires. Three hierarchical multivariable models were analyzed, with each eating behavior included as the outcome variable. Demographic variables (Step 1), general perceived stress (Step 2), and predictor variables (i.e., acculturative stress, perceived support; Step 3) were added using Method Enter. Interaction terms were entered using Method Stepwise (Step 4) to test for moderation effects. Results As perceived family support increased, the magnitude of the link between acculturative stress and higher uncontrolled eating increased (p = .002). When perceived significant other support was higher, the magnitude of the relationship between acculturative stress and higher emotional eating increased (p = .02). Higher perceived friend support was directly related to reduced uncontrolled eating (p = .002). Discussion This study highlights the heterogeneous effects of various sources of perceived support on the link between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors. Findings imply that problematic eating prevention and intervention programs might benefit from considering not only the acculturative stress experienced by racial/ethnic minority young adults but also the sources of support perceived. Public Significance Perceived support from family and the significant other increased the magnitude of the link between higher acculturative stress and increased problematic eating behaviors, whereas support from friends showed a direct relationship with reduced uncontrolled eating. The results highlight the nuanced functions of various sources of perceived social support and contribute to a deeper understanding of potential moderators in the relationship between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors among racial/ethnic minorities.
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