Zhang Yanni, Xiong Jianping, Sun Rong, Chai Guangxin, Xiong Li
Department of Physical Education, Yangtze University College of Arts and Sciences, Jingzhou, China.
School of Physical Education, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jan 15;12:1511256. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1511256. eCollection 2025.
The increasing prevalence of psychological symptoms in adolescents has become an important problem faced by all countries in the world. The increased sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption and the decreased muscle strength had a serious negative impact on adolescent health. However, previous studies have mainly focused on adolescents in developed countries and fewer studies have been conducted in developing countries, especially in rural areas of western China. This study aims to explore the association of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption, and relative grip strength with psychological symptoms among rural adolescents in western China.
In this study, 11,018 adolescents aged 13-18 years from rural areas of Xinjiang and Tibet in western China were recruited using stratified randomized whole-cluster sampling in 2023. The participants were assessed for sugar-sweetened beverages consumption, relative grip strength, and psychological symptoms. Non-parametric tests, -tests, logistic regression analyses, and ordered logistic regression analyses of generalized linear models were used to analyze the associations of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and relative grip strength with psychological symptoms in adolescents.
The proportions of adolescents with sugar-sweetened beverages consumption of <1 times/week, 2-4 times/week, and >4 times/week in rural areas of western China were 34.6, 52.7, and 12.7%, respectively. The prevalence of adolescents' emotional problems, behavioral problems, social adjustment difficulties, and psychological symptoms were 28.7, 27.0, 20.2, and 22.1%, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of grip strength among adolescents was assessed as (32.52 ± 10.13) kg and the relative grip strength was (0.60 ± 0.16) in rural areas of western China. Taking participants with sugar-sweetened beverages consumption <1 times/week group and relative grip strength at the fourth quartile as the reference, participants with SSB consumption >4 times/week and relative grip strength at the first quartile had the highest risk (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 2.09-3.67, < 0.001) of psychological symptoms.
Elevated sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and decreased relative grip strength were associated with an increased prevalence of psychological symptoms. Prospective cohort studies are needed in the future to explore the causal relationships among SSB consumption, muscle strength, and psychological symptoms.
青少年心理症状患病率不断上升已成为世界各国面临的重要问题。含糖饮料（SSB）摄入量增加和肌肉力量下降对青少年健康产生了严重负面影响。然而，以往研究主要集中在发达国家的青少年，在发展中国家开展的研究较少，尤其是中国西部农村地区。本研究旨在探讨中国西部农村青少年含糖饮料消费、相对握力与心理症状之间的关联。
本研究于2023年采用分层随机整群抽样方法，招募了来自中国西部新疆和西藏农村地区的11018名13 - 18岁青少年。对参与者进行了含糖饮料消费、相对握力和心理症状评估。采用非参数检验、t检验、逻辑回归分析和广义线性模型的有序逻辑回归分析，分析青少年含糖饮料消费和相对握力与心理症状之间的关联。
中国西部农村地区含糖饮料消费频率<1次/周、2 - 4次/周和>4次/周的青少年比例分别为34.6%、52.7%和12.7%。青少年情绪问题、行为问题、社会适应困难和心理症状的患病率分别为28.7%、27.0%、20.2%和22.1%。中国西部农村地区青少年握力的均值和标准差评估为（32.52±10.13）kg，相对握力为（0.60±0.16）。以含糖饮料消费<1次/周组且相对握力处于第四四分位数的参与者为参照，含糖饮料消费>4次/周且相对握力处于第一四分位数的参与者出现心理症状的风险最高（OR = 2.77，95%CI：2.09 - 3.67，P<0.001）。
含糖饮料消费增加和相对握力下降与心理症状患病率增加有关。未来需要开展前瞻性队列研究，以探讨含糖饮料消费、肌肉力量和心理症状之间的因果关系。
