Menghi Leonardo, Fontana Lara, Camarda Silvia, Endrizzi Isabella, Concas Maria Pina, Gasparini Paolo, Gasperi Flavia
Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, Via Mach 1, 38098 San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
Department of Green Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
Nutrients. 2025 May 12;17(10):1653. doi: 10.3390/nu17101653.
: As a peripheral effect of depression-related traits, sensory responses may predispose individuals to depressive symptoms by prompting suboptimal dietary patterns with long-term effects on mood. Mood disturbances in adolescence are strong predictors of adult mental illness, making it crucial to identify factors that may shift transient mood fluctuations into more severe mental health issues during this vulnerable period. Given the substantial gender differences in susceptibility to comorbidities of depression, we examined whether the link between sensory perception and depressive symptoms in nonclinical adolescents varied by gender and was related to dietary habits. : In this cross-sectional study, 232 healthy adolescents (41.8% girls, aged 13-17) reported their diet over the past year using the EPIC Food Frequency Questionnaire and rated their liking and perceived intensity of oral sensations from four grapefruit juices and dark chocolate puddings with varying sucrose levels. Additionally, participants completed assessments of anxiety, neuroticism, pickiness, body dissatisfaction, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to evaluate depressive symptoms. : We found that girls exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and pickiness compared to boys (Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test), and that greater responsiveness to bitterness (e.g., β = 0.264, = 0.037) and astringency (β = 0.269, = 0.029) predicted higher depressive symptoms exclusively in girls. PHQ-9 scores were positively associated with alcohol use in both girls (ρ = 0.176, = 0.003) and boys (ρ = 0.148, = 0.004) and inversely related to the intake of beneficial nutrients (e.g., fiber, polyunsaturated fats), particularly in girls. Intriguingly, moderation analyses suggested that associations between nutrient intake and acuity for alarming oral sensations were largely moderated by depression-related traits in girls, but not in boys. : Our findings suggest that gender moderates the links between depressive symptoms, sensory perception, and dietary habits in healthy adolescents, possibly reflecting gender-specific coping strategies for comorbidities of depression.
作为与抑郁相关特质的一种外周效应，感觉反应可能通过促使形成对情绪有长期影响的次优饮食模式，使个体易患抑郁症状。青少年期的情绪障碍是成人精神疾病的有力预测指标，因此识别在此脆弱时期可能将短暂情绪波动转变为更严重心理健康问题的因素至关重要。鉴于在抑郁症共病易感性方面存在显著的性别差异，我们研究了非临床青少年中感觉知觉与抑郁症状之间的联系是否因性别而异，以及是否与饮食习惯有关。
在这项横断面研究中，232名健康青少年（41.8%为女孩，年龄13 - 17岁）使用EPIC食物频率问卷报告了他们过去一年的饮食情况，并对四种不同蔗糖水平的葡萄柚汁和黑巧克力布丁的喜好程度及口腔感觉的感知强度进行了评分。此外，参与者完成了焦虑、神经质、挑食、身体不满意程度的评估以及患者健康问卷（PHQ - 9）以评估抑郁症状。
我们发现，与男孩相比，女孩表现出更高水平的抑郁、焦虑、神经质和挑食（Wilcoxon秩和检验），并且对苦味（例如，β = 0.264，P = 0.037）和涩味（β = 0.269，P = 0.029）的更大反应性仅在女孩中预测更高的抑郁症状。PHQ - 9评分在女孩（ρ = 0.176，P = 0.003）和男孩（ρ = 0.148，P = 0.004）中均与饮酒呈正相关，并且与有益营养素（如纤维、多不饱和脂肪）的摄入量呈负相关，尤其是在女孩中。有趣的是，调节分析表明，女孩中营养摄入与令人警觉的口腔感觉敏锐度之间的关联在很大程度上受与抑郁相关特质的调节，而男孩则不然。
我们的研究结果表明，性别调节了健康青少年中抑郁症状、感觉知觉和饮食习惯之间的联系，这可能反映了抑郁症共病的性别特异性应对策略。
