Abstract

Background: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between dietary habits and mental health among people with disability (PWD) using the Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (PSED). Significant differences according to gender and age were identified. Methods: This study used secondary data (the second wave of the PSED) collected from 2016 to 2018 (n = 4345). Dietary habits (i.e., skipping meals and regular meal timing) were analyzed as independent variables, and mental health indicators (depression and stress) were treated as dependent variables. Results: Compared with participants who rarely skipped meals, those who skipped meals occasionally and frequently had significantly higher odds of depression (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.23–1.68, p < 0.001; OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.70–3.10, p < 0.001, respectively). Occasional meal skipping was also associated with higher odds of stress (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.01–1.26, p = 0.038), but frequent meal skipping was not significantly associated with stress (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 0.97–1.65, p = 0.080). Irregular meal timing was consistently associated with both depressive symptoms (sometimes irregular: OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.09–1.49, p = 0.003; irregular: OR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.37–2.41, p < 0.001) and perceived stress (sometimes irregular: OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.21–1.51, p < 0.001; irregular: OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.11–1.80, p = 0.005). Gender-stratified analyses showed outcome-specific patterns: frequent meal skipping was strongly associated with depressive symptoms among women (OR = 3.11, 95% CI 1.94–4.98) and was also significant among men (OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.28–2.80), whereas occasional meal skipping was significantly associated with perceived stress among men (OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.01–1.33) but not among women. Conclusions: Meal skipping and irregular meal timing were associated with poorer mental health outcomes among people with disabilities. In particular, meal skipping was consistently associated with higher odds of self-reported depressive symptoms, whereas meal regularity was associated with both depressive symptoms and perceived stress. These findings suggest that disability-sensitive nutritional support and integrated mental health interventions may help promote psychological wellbeing among people with disabilities.

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