Department of Radiology-Medical Imaging (IDI), Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IdIBGi), Josep Trueta University Hospital, Girona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain; Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII) and CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain.
Department of Radiology-Medical Imaging (IDI), Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IdIBGi), Josep Trueta University Hospital, Girona, Spain; Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Girona, Spain.
J Affect Disord. 2023 Aug 15;335:340-348. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.05.009. Epub 2023 May 18.
The consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPF) has been associated with depression and inflammation and preclinical studies showed that some UPF components disrupt the amygdala-hippocampal complex. We combine diet, clinical and brain imaging data to investigate the relationship between the UPF consumption, depressive symptoms, and brain volumes in humans, considering interactions with obesity, and the mediation effect of inflammation biomarkers.
One-hundred fifty-two adults underwent diet, depressive symptoms, anatomic magnetic resonance imaging assessments and laboratory tests. Relationships between the % of UPF consumption (in grams) of the total diet, depressive symptoms, and gray matter brain volumes were explored using several adjusted regression models, and in interaction with the presence of obesity. Whether inflammatory biomarkers (i.e., white blood cell count, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, c-reactive protein) mediate the previous associations was investigated using R mediation package.
High UPF consumption was associated with higher depressive symptoms in all participants (β = 0.178, CI = 0.008-0.261) and in those with obesity (β = 0.214, CI = -0.004-0.333). Higher consumption was also associated with lower volumes in the posterior cingulate cortex and the left amygdala, which in the participants with obesity also encompassed the left ventral putamen and the dorsal frontal cortex. White blood count levels mediated the association between UPF consumption and depressive symptoms (p = 0.022).
The present study precludes any causal conclusions.
UPF consumption is associated with depressive symptoms and lower volumes within the mesocorticolimbic brain network implicated in reward processes and conflict monitoring. Associations were partially dependent on obesity and white blood cell count.
超加工食品和饮料（UPF）的消费与抑郁和炎症有关，临床前研究表明，一些 UPF 成分会破坏杏仁核-海马体复合体。我们结合饮食、临床和脑影像学数据，研究了 UPF 消费、抑郁症状和人类大脑体积之间的关系，同时考虑了肥胖的相互作用以及炎症生物标志物的中介作用。
152 名成年人接受了饮食、抑郁症状、解剖磁共振成像评估和实验室测试。使用几种调整后的回归模型，考虑到肥胖的存在，探索了总饮食中 UPF 消费（以克为单位）的百分比与抑郁症状和灰质脑体积之间的关系。使用 R 中介包研究了炎症生物标志物（即白细胞计数、脂多糖结合蛋白、C 反应蛋白）是否介导了之前的关联。
在所有参与者（β=0.178，CI=0.008-0.261）和肥胖参与者（β=0.214，CI=0.004-0.333）中，高 UPF 消费与较高的抑郁症状相关。较高的消费也与后扣带回皮质和左侧杏仁核的体积减少相关，在肥胖参与者中，这也包括左侧腹侧纹状体和背侧额皮质。白细胞计数水平介导了 UPF 消费与抑郁症状之间的关联（p=0.022）。
本研究不能得出任何因果结论。
UPF 消费与中边缘皮质网络内的抑郁症状和体积减少有关，该网络涉及奖励过程和冲突监测。关联部分取决于肥胖和白细胞计数。
