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Carotenoid Intake is Inversely Associated with Risk of Depressive Symptoms
10 May 2021A cross-sectional study has shown that carotenoid intake may be inversely associated with the risk of depressive symptoms in U.S. adults
A cross-sectional study has shown that alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein with zeaxanthin, and total carotenoid intake may be inversely associated with the risk of depressive symptoms in U.S. adults (1).
Depression
can be classified as a mood disorder and can bring about long-lasting symptoms
such as overwhelming sadness, low energy, loss of appetite, and a lack of
interest in things that used to bring pleasure. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), more than 264 million people worldwide are affected with
depression (2). Depressive episodes can be classified as mild,
moderate, or severe, depending on the number and severity of the symptoms.
In this
study, 17,401 adults from aged 18 – 80 years old who participated in the
National Health Examination Survey 2009-2016 were chosen. Depressive symptoms
of the participants were assessed using a nine-item depressive symptoms
screening instrument-Patient’s Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). PHQ-9 is a self-administered,
screening tool for assessment of the severity of depressive symptoms.
Participants were considered to have depressive symptoms if their PHQ-9 scores
were ≥10. The dietary carotenoid intake of the participants were obtained
through 24-hour dietary recall interviews. The first dietary recall interview was
collected at the Mobile Examination Center (MEC), and the second interview was
conducted by telephone 3–10 days later.
From the
analysis, it was found that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher in
females, smokers, and those with hypertension and diabetes. At the same time, alpha-carotene,
beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein with zeaxanthin, total carotenoid,
and energy intake in participants with depressive symptoms were significantly
lower than those without depressive symptoms.
The result
of this association study is similar to the past association study where they
found higher intakes of alpha-carotene and beta-carotene were associated with a
decreased risk of depressive symptoms among the U.S. midlife female (3).
Similarly, another report also showed that dietary beta-carotene intake was
negatively associated with depressive symptoms in Korean students (4).
It was inferred that there are several possible mechanisms by which carotenoids
may play a protective role in depressive symptoms. First mechanism is through
the reduction of inflammatory cytokines by carotenoids. Another mechanism is by
the antioxidant activity of carotenoids where it can effectively remove
reactive oxygen species and other free radicals hence protecting the brain from
oxidative damage.
To the
researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively examine the
associations between dietary carotenoid intakes and depressive symptoms. These
findings from association study need to be confirmed by prospective studies.
References
1. Ge, Honghan,
Tingting Yang, Jing Sun, and Dongfeng Zhang. Associations between dietary
carotenoid intakes and the risk of depressive symptoms. Food & Nutrition Research 2020.
2. Retrieved
from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression on 8th January
2021.
3. Li D, Li Y.
Associations of alpha-carotenoid and beta-carotenoid with depressive symptoms
in late midlife women. J Affect Disord
2019; 256: 424–30.
4. Park JY, You
JS, Chang KJ. Dietary taurine intake, nutrients intake, dietary habits and life
stress by depression in Korean female college students: a case-control study. J Biomed Sci 2010; 17(Suppl 1): S40.