(P17-050-25) Almond Intake and Its Prospective Association With Depressive Symptomatology in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Objectives: We characterized almond intake and assessed its prospective association with depressive symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Methods: Data included 8,783 adults of Central/South American, Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican heritage. Participants, recruited from The Bronx, Chicago, Miami, and San Diego, were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline (2008–2011) and followed through 2017. Baseline data from 24-h dietary recalls and a food propensity questionnaire were analyzed to predict habitual almond intake using a two-part non-linear mixed-effects model. The Monte Carlo method (100 replicates) estimated the almond intake distribution. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression assessed the association between 1-SD increases in inverse normal transformed (INT) baseline almond intake and the odds ratio (95% CI) of significant depressive symptoms at follow-up—scores ≥10 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 (range: 0–30)—overall and by sex, age, heritage, and recruitment city.

Results: The overall mean (1^st, 99^th percentiles) almond intake (g/day) was 0.55 (0.01, 7.76). Intake was similar for women [0.58 (0.01, 8.27)] and men [0.51 (0.01, 7.12)] but higher among adults aged ≥65 years [0.78 (0.01, 10.79)] compared to those aged 45–64 years [0.68 (0.01, 9.29)] and 18–44 years [0.42 (0.01, 5.90)]. By heritage, Dominicans had the highest intake [0.96 (0.01, 13.73)] and Puerto Ricans the lowest [0.44 (0.01, 6.26)]. By city, intake was highest in the Bronx [0.70 (0.01, 10.00)] and lowest in Chicago [0.34 (0.01, 4.70)]. The prevalence of significant depressive symptoms was 25.4% at baseline and 22.5% at follow-up. Each 1-SD increase in INT almond intake was prospectively associated with lower odds of significant depressive symptoms among Mexicans [0.85 (0.73, 0.99)] and persons from San Diego [0.76 (0.63, 0.91)].

Conclusions: Almond consumption was significantly lower than the recommended intake of 30 g/day. Inverse associations between almond intake and depressive symptomatology suggest that increasing almond intake, may contribute preventing depression in US Hispanics/Latinos of Mexican heritage and those residing in San Diego.

Funding Sources: NHLBI; The Almond Board of California.