Wu Youliang, Yi Qing, Qi Zihan, Yin Yao, Qi Yufei
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jul 1;12:1603169. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1603169. eCollection 2025.
To investigate the association between Lactobacillus levels, depressive mood, and body mass index (BMI) among Chinese college students. In addition, to examine whether depressive mood mediates the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI and whether physical activity (PA) moderates this association.
This cross-sectional study recruited 423 Chinese college students using a multi-stage stratified sampling method. Lactobacillus levels were measured from stool samples, depressive mood was assessed using a well-designed depression scale, PA was tracked with accelerometers, and BMI was calculated using calibrated electronic scales. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and tests for mediation and moderation effects were conducted using SPSS and AMOS software.
Lactobacillus levels exhibited significant negative correlations with depressive moods (r = -0.131, < 0.01) and BMI (r = -0.113, < 0.05), while depressive mood showed a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.117, < 0.05). Mediation analysis revealed that depressive moods mediated the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, with an indirect effect of -0.021 (95% CI: -0.062 to -0.001). PA significantly moderated the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, as evidenced by an interaction coefficient of 0.009 ( < 0.001).
Depressive mood could mediate the association between Lactobacillus levels and BMI, with PA playing a moderating role. This study provides new evidence for weight and depression management in college students.
探讨中国大学生体内乳酸杆菌水平、抑郁情绪与体重指数（BMI）之间的关联。此外，检验抑郁情绪是否介导了乳酸杆菌水平与BMI之间的关联，以及身体活动（PA）是否调节了这种关联。
本横断面研究采用多阶段分层抽样方法招募了423名中国大学生。通过粪便样本测量乳酸杆菌水平，使用精心设计的抑郁量表评估抑郁情绪，用加速度计追踪PA，并使用校准电子秤计算BMI。使用SPSS和AMOS软件进行验证性因子分析、相关分析、回归分析以及中介和调节效应检验。
乳酸杆菌水平与抑郁情绪（r = -0.131，<0.01）和BMI（r = -0.113，<0.05）呈显著负相关，而抑郁情绪与BMI呈正相关（r = 0.117，<0.05）。中介分析显示，抑郁情绪介导了乳酸杆菌水平与BMI之间的关联，间接效应为-0.021（95%CI：-0.062至-0.001）。PA显著调节了乳酸杆菌水平与BMI之间的关联，交互系数为0.009（<0.001）证明了这一点。
抑郁情绪可介导乳酸杆菌水平与BMI之间的关联，PA起调节作用。本研究为大学生体重和抑郁管理提供了新证据。
