The Relationship Between Maternal Depression and Dietary Patterns Among 7- to 10 years old Children in Tehran Primary Schools

Background and Aim: Considering the importance of children's dietary patterns in the general health and vitality of the population in the future and the effect of maternal depression on performing maternal tasks  and responsibilities regarding children's eating habits and behaviors, this study was designed and conducted to determine the relationship between maternal depression and children's dietary patterns. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study included 313 primary school children in Tehran in the first semester of the academic year 2018-2019 selected through stratified cluster sampling. The following questionaires were used to collect the data: general and demographic questionnaires  related to mothers and children, the Beck standard questionnaire to assess maternal depression, and a food frequency questionnaire to assess the children’s food patterns. The SPSS-22 and Stata-13 were used to analyze the data. Using exploratory factor analysis the dominant food patterns of the children were determined. The statistical tests used for data analysis included descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: Data analysis showed the prevalence of depression among the mothers and the dominant dietary pattern among the children to be 31.3% (n=98)  and vegetarian dietary patterns, respectively. The children’s body mass index, heights and waist circumference were significantly positively associated with with some of the dietary patterns (p<0.05). However, no significant association was found between maternal depression and the children's dietary patterns (p>0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, maternal depression has no significant association with children's dietary patterns. Conducting similar studies with larger sample sizes are recommended.