Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies
| Number | Author/ (year) | Study characteristics | Psychological outcomes | Dietary exposures | QA | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Provenance | Sample size | Age (range or mean) |
Male Gender n (%) |
psychological condition | Assessment tool | Type of junk food | Assessment tool (Practical definition) |
||||
| 1 | Adjibade, 2019 | Cohort | France | 26,730 | 47.26 ± 14.17 | 6350 (23.75) | Depression |
CES-D (0–60) validated cut-offs (CES-D score ≥ 17 for men and ≥ 23 for women) |
Ultra-processed food |
Manufactured food products containing numerous ingredients as well as additives such as hydrogenated oils, non-sugar sweeteners, modified starch, flavoring agents, emulsifiers, humectants, colors, and other additives used for cosmetic purpose measured based on web-based dietary record platform validated for self-administration |
7 | |
|
Beverages, fatty/sweet products, snacks, and sauces/ added fats |
Percentage of dietary intake based on a web-based dietary record platform validated for self-administration | |||||||||||
| 2 | Almajwal, 2016 | cross-sectional | Saudi Arabia | 395 | NR | 0 (0.0) | Stress | The perceived stress scale |
Eating styles including, Restrained, Emotional, and External |
The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire self-reported questionnaire. | 6 | |
| Eating fast food |
frequency of eating fast food per week |
|||||||||||
| 3 | Camiller, 2014 | Cohort | France | 30,240 | 46.2 ± 13.9 | 7378 (24.40) | Depressive symptoms | Validated French version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) | Sugar-sweetened soft drinks | French version of the revised 21-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire | 7 | |
| 4 | Canuto, 2021 | cross-sectional | Brazil | 539 | 33.6 ± 8.6 | 0 (0.0) | Perceived stress score | 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) | Snack and fast-food | Validated qualitative food frequency questionnaire comprising 53 food items | 8 | |
| 5 | Chaplin, 2011 | Cross sectional | United Kingdom | 870 | 45 | 75 (8.62) |
Stress in life in general, work stress, cognitive failure outside work, minor injury outside work, and minor injury at work |
Researcher-made validated questionnaire | Unhealthy snack | A factor analysis of snacking behavior, consisted of the sum of frequency of snacking of chocolate, crisps and biscuits, measured using a Likert scale | 6 | |
| 6 | Coletro, 2022 | Cross-sectional | Brazil | 1693 | NR | 827 (48.9) | Anxiety symptoms | The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) | consumption of ultra-processed foods |
Assessed using a qualitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), validated in Brazilian population referring to consumption in the last 3 months |
7 | |
| Depression symptoms | Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) | |||||||||||
| 7 | Crawford, 2011 | Cross sectional | United States | 626 | 45–54 | 0 (0.0) | Depression | The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale (scoring 16 or higher out of 20 items) | Fast food |
Frequency of fast-food intake was measured by self-report |
7 | |
| 8 | Gómez-Donoso, 2019 | Cohort | Spain | 14,907 | 36.7 ± 11.7 | 0 (0.0) | Depression | Clinical diagnosis or antidepressant medication use | Ultra-processed food | Frequency of intake of carbonated drinks, processed meat, biscuits (cookies), candy (confectionery), ‘instant’ packaged soups and noodles, sweet or savory packaged snacks, and sugared milk and fruit drinks | 7 | |
| 9 | Le Port, 2012 | cohort | France | 12,404 |
M:45.0 ± 2.9 F: 42.2 ± 4.2 |
9272 (74.75) | Depression | The 20 items scale of The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) |
Western diet, fat-sweet, snacking, and dessert |
35-item qualitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for twenty food groups | 8 | |
| 10 | Lim, 2020 | longitudinal study | United States | 912 | 28.7 ± 0.3 | 0 (0.0) | Chronic stress | 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) | Excess fat and soda intake | Frequency of intake of instant noodle, frozen, canned or microwave foods, potato chips, corn chips and tortilla chips, McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut/Bi Sheng Ke | 7 | |
| 11 | Liu, 2007 | Cross sectional | China | 2541 | 20.4 | 1470 (57.85) | Stress | 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) | Ready to eat food or snack | Not validated food frequency questionnaire regarding the previous month | 6 | |
| Depression score | The 20 items scale of The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) | |||||||||||
| 12 | Nitturi, 2021 | Cross sectional | United States | 107 | 49.3 ± 11.6 | 22 (20.56) | Anxiety sensitivity | The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) | Unhealthy Supersized fast food | Researcher-made validated questionnaire | 7 | |
| 13 | Rienks, 2013 | Longitudinal and cross-sectional data driven from a prospective study | Australia | 8369 for cross-sectional and 6060 for longitudinal analysis | 50–55 | 0 (0.0) | Depression | The 10-items scale of Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (scores ranges from 0–30, participants with a score of 10 or higher were considered depressed | Meat and processed meat and high fat and sugar pattern | validated food frequency questionnaire asking regarding 74 foods and six alcoholic beverages over the last 12 months | 8 | |
| 14 | Sangsefidi, 2020 |
Cross-sectional (Data from The recruitment phase of a cohort) |
Iran | 9965 | 20–69 | 4921 (49.7) |
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress |
The Iranian validated version of depression, anxiety, and stress scale questionnaire 21 (DASS 21), a well-known short version of self-report |
Sweetened drinks, Fast foods, Canned foods, Fried foods, and Snacks |
Not validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), asking about the last year (results were divided into three groups of never, once, or more than once per week) |
7 | |
| 15 | Sousa, 2013 | Cross sectional | Brazil | 46,785 | 20–59 | 22,410 (47.9) | Depression | Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) |
Sugar sweetened beverage, Sweets, and Snacks |
Not validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), asking about the last week (High consumption was considered when a participant reported 5 times or more intake per week) |
7 | |
| 16 | Xia, 2017 | Case control | China | 2702 |
Control:45.84 Case: 46.08 |
1450 (53.66) | depression | Chinese version of Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) |
Sugared beverages, Salted foods |
Not validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), consisted of 81 items, including 7 frequency categories ranging from “almost never eat” to “twice or more per day” | 7 | |
| 17 | Zenk, 2014 | Prospective cohort | United States | 100 | 44.3 ± 10.5 | 0 (0.0) |
Stressful events, within-person stressful social interaction, and between-person stressful social interaction |
Researcher-made not validated questionnaire | Snack food intake | Not validated web-based momentary surveys via study provided smartphones | 6 | |
F, Females; M, Males; NR, Not Reported