Journal article
The association between ‘Vegetarian for Life’ diet quality and anxiety symptoms: An exploratory secondary analysis within Western and Indian regional groups
Nutritional Psychiatry, Vol.3, pp.1-10
08/2026
Appears in Recent Faculty of Education Publications
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Abstract
Objective: Anxiety represents a global health concern, prompting interest in diet as a modifiable factor for symptom reduction. Although plant-rich dietary patterns have demonstrated benefits in reducing depression, the relationship between diet quality and anxiety in plant-predominant dietary consumers remains underexplored.
Methods: A secondary analysis of an online cross-sectional study examined diet quality and anxiety symptoms in adults (N = 268) who self-report lifelong vegetarian or vegan diet adherence from Western and Indian populations. Self-report measures included the Dietary Screening Tool (DST), Depression, Anxiety, Stress (DASS), Sleep Quality, and Social Connectedness (SCS) scales.
Results: Higher diet quality was associated with lower anxiety symptoms (r = −.24, p < .001), with participants in the lowest diet quality quartile reporting significantly higher anxiety (M = 13.76, SD = 8.59) than those in the medium (M = 7.10, SD = 7.93) and highest quartiles (M = 7.13, SD = 9.42). Based on hierarchical regression, diet quality did not independently predict anxiety symptoms across the total sample, though sleep quality was the strongest predictor (β = .38, t = 10.76, p < .001). Within-region analyses indicated that diet quality was a significant predictor of anxiety in the Indian population, whereas sleep quality was the primary predictor in the Western population. Anxiety severity levels were above the cutoff in the Indian sample and below the cutoff in the Western sample, indicating greater dietary influence when anxiety symptoms are present.
Conclusion: These exploratory findings are consistent with a biopsychosocial framework in which dietary adherence, diet quality, and sleep interact to influence anxiety.
Details
- Title
- The association between ‘Vegetarian for Life’ diet quality and anxiety symptoms: An exploratory secondary analysis within Western and Indian regional groups
- Creators
- Airlie Rouvray - Bond UniversityAngela Gilmour - Bond UniversityTalitha Best - Central Queensland UniversityMegan Frances Lee - Bond University
- Publication Details
- Nutritional Psychiatry, Vol.3, pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Identifiers
- 991013396949902368
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Authors.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article