{
  "abstract": "Background: The relationship between diet and depressive symptoms is increasingly recognized. However, studies of the association between the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and depressive symptoms are limited, and data from Chinese adults are lacking.\n\nObjective: The goal of this study was to explore the association between the DASH score and depressive symptoms in Chinese adults and to analyze the dose-response relationship and threshold effect.\n\nMethods: A total of 3,465 adults were enrolled in this study. Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and then the DASH score was calculated. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Subsequently, multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between DASH score and depressive symptoms. Restricted cubic spline and two-piecewise logistic regression models were applied to explore dose-response relationships and threshold effect.\n\nResults: Logistic regression analysis showed a significant negative association between the DASH score and depressive symptoms (p for trend = 0.045), which remained stable across different adjusted models. A significant non-linear dose-response relationship was observed (p for non-linearity = 0.001). An exploratory inflection point was identified at a DASH score of 4.124 (95% CI: 2.050–6.450) in this cross-sectional sample. Below this value, a higher DASH score was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 0.397, 95% CI: 0.261–0.605, p < 0.001); above this value, the association was not significant.\n\nConclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify a significant inverse association between the DASH score and depressive symptoms in Chinese adults.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Nutrition, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Medical Affairs Office, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Operating Room, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Department of General Practice, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Department of Nutrition, Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County Hospital, Qinhuangdao, China",
    "Department of Nephrology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ping Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yue Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanru Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xinna Fan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Li Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ru Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Tingting Gong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jiarong Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiumei Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Cuirong Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Longye Zhang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aspbct9af1emb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fnut.2026.1913667",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13730972/",
  "id": "aspbct9af1emb",
  "issns": [
    "2296-861X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1913667",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Nutritional Studies and Diet"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223082263",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2026.1913667/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13730972",
  "pmid": "42984941",
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aspbct9af1emb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T12:23:55Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13730972",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1913667"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Nutritional Studies and Diet",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score is associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study",
  "title_text": "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score is associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:21:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aspbct9af1emb",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Nutrition",
  "versions": []
}