In the last decades society has undergone a profound change and it is estimated that life expectancy at birth in Europe has risen by more than 10 years from 1960 to 2010. However, this high increase in life expectancy was not adequately balanced by an improvement in the quality of life. In fact, higher life expectancy led also to an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases related to aging, such as cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, it is estimated that the global population suffering from depression is about 300 million people and that anxiety disorders affect more than 260 million people worldwide. Equally alarming is the increase in sleep disturbances which is a disorder itself and can be a risk factor for the onset of other mental illnesses. It is challenging to find the only trigger behind the onset of mental illness because there are largely multifactorial etiologies, involving complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Among environmental factors, lifestyle and nutrition seem to play a role of primary importance. Many studies have indicated that high adherence to western-like diets characterized by high calorie and ultra-refined foods intake often accompanied by underactivity increases the risk of depression and anxiety. Conversely, recent scientific evidence demonstrated the beneficial effect of omega-3 rich fish and plant based dietary patterns toward mental health. Not only the specific foods or dietary patterns can have an effect; also intermittent fasting has emerged as an innovative strategy to prevent and treat mental health disease, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment but the data available are still scarce. Among all types of intermittent fasting regimens, time restricted feeding (TRF) protocol appears to be the most promising because it allows to induce benefits of a total fasting without reducing global calories and nutrients intake and just modulating temporal feeding\fasting window during the day. The aim of this project was to investigate the association between time feeding period and mental and cognitive health in a cohort of southern Italian individuals. Data from nearly 2000 adults living in Sicily have been collected. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food and nutrient intake; time of usual meal was asked to calculate the window of time between daily meals. Cognitive health was evaluated using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. Mental health outcomes included perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality assessed through validated instruments. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the association between exposure and outcome. The studies showed that individuals having a feeding time window of 10 hours (FTW-10) or less were less likely to have impaired cognitive health; the association was significant also for those individuals having breakfast. No association was found between FTW-10 and overall mental health in the whole sample, despite individuals older than 70 years old undergoing a FTW-10 were less likely to have mental health distress than others with no restricted time feeding. In conclusions, having a shorter feeding time window might exert a beneficial effect toward brain mechanisms, both related to mental and cognitive health. However, results are not univocal and future studies are needed to better understand the potential mechanisms underlying such associations.
La diffusione di migliori condizioni igieniche, le attività di prevenzione e il continuo progresso medico- scientifico hanno permesso di aumentare l’aspettativa di vita nei paesi europei di ben 10 anni dal 1960 al 2010. Tuttavia, questo incremento dell’aspettativa di vita non è in linea con un incremento della qualità di vita, piuttosto si traduce in un’aumentata prevalenza di tutte quelle condizioni cliniche associate all’invecchiamento tra cui il declino cognitivo, la demenza e la malattia di Alzheimer. Si stima inoltre che circa 300 milioni di persone siano affette da depressione e che 260 milioni siano colpite da disturbo d’ansia. È ugualmente allarmante l’aumento dei disturbi del sonno che possono essere considerati una patologia a sé ma anche un fattore di rischio per l’insorgenza di altre malattie. Le malattie mentali presentano eziologia multifattoriale, alla quale concorrono complesse interazioni tra fattori genetici e ambientali. Tra questi ultimi, lo stile di vita e la dieta sembrano rivestire un ruolo di primaria importanza. Sono ad oggi numerosi gli studi che hanno mostrato come un regime alimentare tipico delle società occidentali caratterizzato da alimenti ipercalorici, poveri di nutrienti e altamente raffinati porti ad un aumento del rischio di depressione, disturbi d’ansia e malattie cronico- degenerative. All’opposto, recenti evidenze scientifiche hanno evidenziato i benefici di un regime alimentare ricco in cibi vegetali (cereali integrali, frutta secca, legumi) e pesce ad alto contenuto in omega 3 sulla prevenzione e il trattamento di numerosi disturbi mentali. Non soltanto i cibi o il modello alimentare possono influenzare lo stato di salute; sembra che anche digiunare in maniera intermittente (Intermittent Fasting – IF) possa essere una innovativa strategia per la prevenzione e il trattamento dei disturbi del sonno, del declino cognitivo e delle malattie mentali. Tra tutti i tipi di digiuno intermittente, l’alimentazione limitata nel tempo (“Time restricted feeding”) sembra essere la più promettente poiché permette di ottenere i benefici di un digiuno totale modulando semplicemente la finestra temporale di assunzione di cibo e di digiuno all’interno delle 24h, senza indurre alcuna restrizione calorica. Pertanto, l’obiettivo di questo progetto è stato quello di investigare l’associazione tra la durata della finestra di alimentazione all’interno delle 24h e outcomes di salute mentale e cognitiva in una coorte di italiani adulti. Sono stati raccolti dati da circa 2000 soggetti residenti in Sicilia. È stato utilizzato un questionario di frequenza di assunzione degli alimenti al fine di valutare gli introiti di tutti i micro- e macronutrienti oltre che di determinati gruppi alimentari. Inoltre, sono stati chiesti gli orari abituali dei pasti in modo tale da poter calcolare la finestra di alimentazione tra il primo e l’ultimo pasto della giornata. Lo stato cognitivo è stato valutato mediante Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire; per gli outcomes di salute mentale sono stati valutati la qualità del sonno mediante il Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), lo stress mediante Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) e i sintomi depressivi mediante 10- item Center for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression Short Form (CES-D-10), per infine valutare lo stato di “distress mentale” considerato come avere almeno uno tra scarsa qualità del sonno, elevato stress percepito e sintomi depressivi. Sono state eseguite regressioni logistiche multivariate per determinare l'associazione tra esposizione a TRF e gli outcomes investigati. Gli studi hanno mostrato che gli individui con una finestra temporale di alimentazione ristretta a 10 ore o meno avevano minori probabilità di avere una compromissione dello stato cognitivo; l’associazione era statisticamente significativa anche per coloro i quali facevano la colazione. Non è stata trovata associazione tra TRF e la salute mentale nell’intero campione in studio, mentre nei soggetti con età superiore ai 70 anni coloro che consumavano i pasti in una finestra di tempo inferiore a 10 ore avevano una minore probabilità di avere segni di distress mentale. In conclusione, alimentarsi in una finestra temporale più breve, specie se in linea con i ritmi circadiani, potrebbe esercitare un ruolo benefico sui meccanismi cerebrali e sulla salute mentale cognitiva. Tuttavia, i risultati non sono univoci e sono necessari studi futuri per comprendere meglio i potenziali meccanismi alla base di tali associazioni.
Effetti di una alimentazione a tempo ristretto sulla salute mentale e sullo stato cognitivo / Currenti, Walter. - (2021 Mar 22).
Effetti di una alimentazione a tempo ristretto sulla salute mentale e sullo stato cognitivo
CURRENTI, WALTER
2021-03-22
Abstract
In the last decades society has undergone a profound change and it is estimated that life expectancy at birth in Europe has risen by more than 10 years from 1960 to 2010. However, this high increase in life expectancy was not adequately balanced by an improvement in the quality of life. In fact, higher life expectancy led also to an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases related to aging, such as cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, it is estimated that the global population suffering from depression is about 300 million people and that anxiety disorders affect more than 260 million people worldwide. Equally alarming is the increase in sleep disturbances which is a disorder itself and can be a risk factor for the onset of other mental illnesses. It is challenging to find the only trigger behind the onset of mental illness because there are largely multifactorial etiologies, involving complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Among environmental factors, lifestyle and nutrition seem to play a role of primary importance. Many studies have indicated that high adherence to western-like diets characterized by high calorie and ultra-refined foods intake often accompanied by underactivity increases the risk of depression and anxiety. Conversely, recent scientific evidence demonstrated the beneficial effect of omega-3 rich fish and plant based dietary patterns toward mental health. Not only the specific foods or dietary patterns can have an effect; also intermittent fasting has emerged as an innovative strategy to prevent and treat mental health disease, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment but the data available are still scarce. Among all types of intermittent fasting regimens, time restricted feeding (TRF) protocol appears to be the most promising because it allows to induce benefits of a total fasting without reducing global calories and nutrients intake and just modulating temporal feeding\fasting window during the day. The aim of this project was to investigate the association between time feeding period and mental and cognitive health in a cohort of southern Italian individuals. Data from nearly 2000 adults living in Sicily have been collected. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food and nutrient intake; time of usual meal was asked to calculate the window of time between daily meals. Cognitive health was evaluated using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. Mental health outcomes included perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality assessed through validated instruments. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the association between exposure and outcome. The studies showed that individuals having a feeding time window of 10 hours (FTW-10) or less were less likely to have impaired cognitive health; the association was significant also for those individuals having breakfast. No association was found between FTW-10 and overall mental health in the whole sample, despite individuals older than 70 years old undergoing a FTW-10 were less likely to have mental health distress than others with no restricted time feeding. In conclusions, having a shorter feeding time window might exert a beneficial effect toward brain mechanisms, both related to mental and cognitive health. However, results are not univocal and future studies are needed to better understand the potential mechanisms underlying such associations.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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