Meal Timing Jetlag is associated with anxiety, depressive and insomnia symptoms in a French-speaking online cohort: A cross-sectional analysis of ALIMENTAL 2

1. J Affect Disord. 2026 Jul 9:122229. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2026.122229. Online
ahead of print.

Meal Timing Jetlag is associated with anxiety, depressive and insomnia symptoms
in a French-speaking online cohort: A cross-sectional analysis of ALIMENTAL 2.

Fond G(1), Coelho J(2), Stubbs B(3), Yon DK(4), Achour Y(5), Akbaraly T(6),
Aouizerate B(7), Boulot L(8), Cappuccio FP(9), Capuron L(10), Iceta S(11), Lucas
G(12), Manfredini R(13), Marx W(14), Micoulaud-Franchi JA(15), Pigazzani F(16),
Rahmati M(17), Tran BX(18), Boyer L(19), Taillard J(20), Berk M(21).

Author information:
(1)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France; Dr Guillaume Fond SARL, Marseille, France.
Electronic address: .
(2)Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba
Léon, F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Service Universitaire de Médecine du Sommeil,
CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba Léon, F-33000, Bordeaux, France. Electronic
address: .
(3)Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and
Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, London, UK; South London and
Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. Electronic address:
.
(4)Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee
University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Pediatrics,
Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine,
Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: .
(5)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France; Département Universitaire de Médecine
Générale, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France. Electronic address:
.
(6)Desbrest Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health (IDESP), Univ
Montpellier, INSERM, F-34090 Montpellier, France. Electronic address:
.
(7)Centre de Référence Régional des Pathologies Anxieuses et de la Dépression,
Pôle de Psychiatrie Générale et Universitaire, Centre Hospitalier Charles
Perrens, Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, UMR
1286, Bordeaux, France; Fondation FondaMental, F-94010, Créteil, France.
Electronic address: .
(8)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France. Electronic address: .
(9)Warwick Applied Health, Warwick Medical School, Faculty of Science,
Engineering and Medicine, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; University
Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry, CV2
2DX, UK. Electronic address: .
(10)Univ. Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France.
Electronic address: .
(11)Research Center of the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, QC, Canada;
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Laval University, Quebec, QC,
Canada. Electronic address: .
(12)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France. Electronic address: .
(13)Clinica Medica Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara,
Ferrara, Italy. Electronic address: .
(14)Deakin University, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical
Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC,
Australia. Electronic address: .
(15)Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba
Léon, F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Service Universitaire de Médecine du Sommeil,
CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba Léon, F-33000, Bordeaux, France. Electronic
address: .
(16)Division of Cardiovascular Research, School of Medicine, University of
Dundee, Dundee, UK. Electronic address: .
(17)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France; Fondation FondaMental, F-94010, Créteil,
France. Electronic address: .
(18)Faculty of Public Health, VNU University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam
National University, Hanoi, Viet Nam. Electronic address:
.
(19)Aix-Marseille Université, CEReSS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille
(APHM), Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, 27 boulevard Jean
Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France. Electronic address: .
(20)Univ. Bordeaux, SANPSY, CNRS, UMR 6033, CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba
Léon, F-33000, Bordeaux, France. Electronic address:
.
(21)Deakin University, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical
Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC,
Australia; Orygen, National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, The
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Florey Institute for
Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia. Electronic address:
.

BACKGROUND: Chrono-nutrition – when, not only what, one eats relative to
circadian timing – is an emerging determinant of mental health. We tested
whether Meal Timing Jetlag (MTJL), the workday-to-free-day discordance in eating
schedules, is associated with anxiety (primary outcome) and with depressive and
insomnia symptoms (secondary), independently of sleep-based circadian
misalignment.
METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the ALIMENTAL 2 French-speaking online
cohort (n = 2945). Sleep timing was assessed with the Munich Chronotype
Questionnaire and meal timing with a Food Timing Screener. Outcomes were the
GAD-7 (anxiety), CES-D (depression) and ISI (insomnia). Multivariable models
adjusted for age, sex, BMI, unemployment, financial difficulty and shift work,
with dose-response, logistic and BMI-stratified sensitivity analyses.
RESULTS: In the primary model (n = 2817), MTJL was independently associated with
anxiety (β = +0.47/h, 95% CI [0.14, 0.79], p = 0.005). The relationship was
J-shaped (non-linearity p = 0.020; slope above 1 h + 1.03/h, p

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus