Sodium and potassium excretion predict increased depression in urban adolescents

Yang

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

et al. 2021

Background Depressive and anxiety symptoms are widespread among adolescents today, creating a large social problem. However, few previous studies have addressed depression and anxiety among adolescents in Chinese cohorts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese middle school adolescent students in the post-COVID-19 era. Methods A total of 22,380 middle school students from Jiangsu Province were surveyed online, and their general demographic data were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depressive symptoms, and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale was used to measure anxiety symptoms. Results Of these participants (aged 12–17 years), 25.6% had depressive symptoms, 26.9% had anxiety symptoms, and 20.6% had a combination of depression and anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in female adolescents (27.6%) than in male adolescents (23.7%; χ2 = 45.479, P = 0.000), and the proportion with anxiety symptoms was higher among female adolescents (28.6%) than among male adolescents (25.4%; χ2 = 29.390, P = 0.000). Furthermore, binary logistic regression analysis showed that gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among adolescents, while age, gender, region, and parental relationship were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that the prevalence of reported depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents are high. Female gender, urban region, and poor parental relationship may be risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, policy makers, schools, and families need to pay more attention to the psychological health of adolescents, develop response plans and take early intervention measures to reduce the prevalence of adolescent depression and anxiety.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms in a large sample of Chinese adolescents in the post-COVID-19 era

Yang

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

et al. 2021

“…However, the mechanism of their influence on mental health is still unknown, while a number of possible factors that may contribute to the positive impact are indicated [18]. Among them, there are specific nutrients, which are known as such that may be related to mental health and for which fruit and vegetables are indicated as a valuable sources in diet, such as complex carbohydrates [20] and fiber [21], being associated with glycemic index [22], C vitamin [23], B vitamins [24], carotenoids [25], potassium [26], and polyphenols [27]. The other explanations are associated with either possibility of reverse mechanism (higher level of mental health may promote better diet, including higher fruit and vegetables intake) [28], or psychological explanation (following better diet, including higher fruit and vegetables intake may promote more positive emotions and better mental health) [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mental Health in Adults: A Systematic Review

et al. 2020

The role of a properly balanced diet in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders has been suggested, while vegetables and fruits have a high content of nutrients that may be of importance in the case of depressive disorders. The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review of the observational studies analyzing association between fruit and vegetable intake and mental health in adults. The search adhered to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and the review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (CRD42019138148). A search for peer-reviewed observational studies published until June 2019 was performed in PubMed and Web of Science databases, followed by an additional manual search for publications conducted via analyzing the references of the found studies. With respect to the intake of fruit and/or vegetable, studies that assessed the intake of fruits and/or vegetables, or their processed products (e.g., juices), as a measure expressed in grams or as the number of portions were included. Those studies that assessed the general dietary patterns were not included in the present analysis. With respect to mental health, studies that assessed all the aspects of mental health in both healthy participants and subjects with physical health problems were included, but those conducted in groups of patients with intellectual disabilities, dementia, and eating disorders were excluded. To assess bias, the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) was applied. A total of 5911 studies were independently extracted by 2 researchers and verified if they met the inclusion criteria using a 2-stage procedure (based on the title, based on the abstract). After reviewing the full text, a total of 61 studies were selected. A narrative synthesis of the findings from the included studies was performed, which was structured around the type of outcome. The studies included mainly focused on depression and depressive symptoms, but also other characteristics ranging from general and mental well-being, quality of life, sleep quality, life satisfaction, flourishing, mood, self-efficacy, curiosity, creativity, optimism, self-esteem, stress, nervousness, or happiness, to anxiety, minor psychiatric disorders, distress, or attempted suicide, were analyzed. The most prominent results indicated that high total intake of fruits and vegetables, and some of their specific subgroups including berries, citrus, and green leafy vegetables, may promote higher levels of optimism and self-efficacy, as well as reduce the level of psychological distress, ambiguity, and cancer fatalism, and protect against depressive symptoms. However, it must be indicated that the studies included were conducted using various methodologies and in different populations, so their results were not always sufficiently comparable, which is a limitation. Taken together, it can be concluded that fruits and/or vegetables, and some of their specific subgroups, as well as processed fruits and vegetables, seems to have a positive influence on mental health, as stated in the vast majority of the included studies. Therefore, the general recommendation to consume at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day may be beneficial also for mental health.

“…For example, people who consume foods that are high in sodium and low in potassium are more likely to develop symptoms of depression. [39] Furthermore, a lack of amino acids and zinc in the diet may cause depression because of enhanced levels of serotonin and dopamine in the body. [38] These ndings suggest that countries should reconsider their existing policies and initiate programs for promoting healthy dietary habits among adolescents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive assessment of depression risk and its behavioral determinants among adolescents: a multi-country study

Sultana

Rahman

Hashizume

2022

Preprint

Background: Mental illness has become a widespread public health concern internationally. This study aimed to generate a depression risk index for adolescents. Furthermore, we developed risk indexes for potential lifestyle and social risk factors of depression among adolescents. In addition, we investigated the country-specific prevalence for each risk index. Finally, we conducted comprehensive assessment of the associations between depression risk and lifestyle and social risk factors.Methods: We used the most recent data available from 20 nationally representative Global School-based Student Health Surveys. Our analytical sample included 51,597 adolescents. The outcome of interest was depression risk, which considered feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and suicidal attempts or tendencies. We developed four lifestyle risk indexes (dietary habits, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and tobacco use) and three social risk indexes (exposure to school violence, interactions with parents, and interactions with friends) which were considered as exposure variables in this study. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: In total, 26.4% of the participants had a risk of depression. Increased odds of depression risk were found among participants with high risk index values for unhealthy dietary habits (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.07–1.23), unhealthy sedentary behavior (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.43–1.63), tobacco use (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.41–1.76), exposure to school violence (OR, 3.06; 95% CI, 2.88–3.26), insufficient interactions with parents (OR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.92–2.28), and insufficient interactions with friends (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.69–1.96) compared with participants with low risk index values. However, there were no significant associations between physical inactivity and risk of depression among adolescent boys or girls. Conclusions: High prevalence rates for depression risk, as well as unhealthy lifestyle factors and social behaviors among adolescents were found in every country, and higher risk index values were associated with increased risk of depression.