A systematic review of the association between dietary patterns and health-related quality of life

Abstract

Background Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is a potent indicator of individual’s happiness and life satisfaction. The way in which the HRQOL is affected by the diet is a topic of constant interest and debate among researchers. Evaluating the association between single nutrients or foods and HRQOL fails to take into consideration the complex interactions between nutrients. Also, the findings from previous investigations on the relationship between dietary patterns and HRQOL have been inconsistent. Therefore, our aim was to assess the existing evidence regarding the relationship between the dietary patterns and HRQOL by conducting a systematic review. Methods A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences and Google scholar databases from inception to March 2020, to identify studies that investigated associations between the dietary patterns (regardless of methods used to define dietary patterns) and HRQOL domains. Two researchers independently checked titles and abstracts, evaluated full-text studies, extracted data, and appraised their quality using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS). Results Thirteen studies (four longitudinal, and nine cross-sectional studies), with a total of 43,445 subjects, were included. Of the studies included in this review, eight studies evaluated the association between "Mediterranean" dietary patterns (MDP) and HRQOL, while five studies examined the association between different dietary patterns ("Healthy", "Unhealthy", "Western", "Fruit and vegetable", "Bread and butter" and etc.) and HRQOL. Excluding three studies which showed no significant association, healthy dietary patterns such as MDP, "Healthy" and "Fruit and vegetable" dietary patterns were associated with better HRQOL in physical and mental components scores. The quality assessment of included studies according to NOS criteria were ranged between medium to high quality. Conclusion According to the current evidence, "Healthy" dietary patterns and “Mediterranean” dietary patterns are associated with better dimension scores of HRQOL in both physical and mental summaries. While, unhealthy dietary patterns and "Western" dietary patterns are associated with lower scores of HRQOL. Further longitudinal studies are required to clarify the association between dietary patterns and HRQOL

Adherence to Mediterranean diet associated with health-related quality of life in children and adolescents: a systematic review

“…This finding is consistent with our results, where five of the included studies [ 14 – 17 , 24 ] showed that adherence to MD was positively associated with HRQoL, with β values ranging from 0.13 to 0.26 points. Furthermore, in a systematic review [ 4 ] that included 43,445 adults, it was observed that there is an association between a higher HRQoL score and greater adherence to a MD pattern than those in people with a Western dietary pattern, who scored lower in HRQoL. However, it is necessary to determine whether a MD could improve the QoL of the child, or on the contrary, adherence to the MD is an expression of the child’s QoL.…”

“…One of the factors of QoL is diet, understood as the dietary regimen or eating habits—the composition, frequency, and amount of food and beverages consumed during the day. These are social practices where culture, traditions, customs, habits, policies, the norms, and values ​​of each social group construct and reconfigure "healthy" dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet (MD), which is associated with better QoL scores on physical and mental dimensions [ 4 ]. There is no strict consensus on what constitutes a Mediterranean diet in percentages and macronutrients [ 5 ].…”

Fruit and vegetable consumption and depression symptoms in young women: results from 1973 to 1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

“…A growing body of research suggests the potential influence of dietary patterns on common mental disorders. The role of diet in relation to health-related quality of life has been extensively investigated, with more positive associations observed with adherence to healthy dietary patterns and the Mediterranean diet [14,15]. Evidence from at least three systematic reviews found that both dietary patterns have also been associated with a greater reduce the risk of developing depression [16][17][18].…”

Pro-Healthy Diet Properties and Its Determinants among Aging Masters Athletes

“…However, this approach gives a poor insight into diet quality and health outcomes [ 35 ]. A better insight into diet quality and explanation of diet-health relations is provided by the food-based approach [ 36 ] in which the whole dietary patterns, i.e., the variety, frequency, and quantity with which the foods are habitually consumed, are considered [ 37 ]. According to this approach, the quality of the diet is evaluated using indicators that assess the variety of healthy choices within basic food groups and the compliance of eating patterns with nutritional guidelines [ 38 ].…”