A longitudinal assessment of alcohol intake andincident depression: the SUN project

Abstract

Background: Longitudinal studies assessing the long-term association between alcohol intake and depression are scarce. The type of beverage may also be important. Therefore we aimed to prospectively evaluate the influence of alcohol intake on incident depression in a Mediterranean cohort. Methods: We assessed 13,619 university graduates (mean age: 38 years, 42% men) participating in a Spanish prospective epidemiological cohort (the SUN Project), initially free of depression. They were recruited between 1999-2008 and biennially followed-up during 2001-2010. At baseline, a 136-item validated food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess alcohol in

Background: Longitudinal studies assessing the long-term association between alcohol intake and depression are scarce. The type of beverage may also be important. Therefore we aimed to prospectively evaluate the influence of alcohol intake on incident depression in a Mediterranean cohort. Methods: We assessed 13,619 university graduates (mean age: 38 years, 42% men) participating in a Spanish prospective epidemiological cohort (the SUN Project), initially free of depression. They were recruited between 1999-2008 and biennially followed-up during 2001-2010. At baseline, a 136-item validated food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess alcohol in