Authors: Varea V, de Carpi JM, Puig C, Alda JA, Camacho E, Ormazabal A, Artuch R, Gomez L.

Institution: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona, Spain. varea@hsjdbcn.org

Background: Previous studies have shown an association between sugar malabsorption and depressive symptoms in adult women. Incompletely absorbed sugars may form nonabsorbable complexes with tryptophan, an amino acid precursor of serotonin, decreasing its availability. As serotonin is the most important neurotransmitter involved in depressive disorders, its depletion could lead to the onset of depression.

Results: In the group with sugar malabsorption, there was a 28.5% prevalence of depressive symptoms that was higher than expected in our population. In the group with depression, the authors found a higher than expected prevalence of sugar intolerance (71.42% versus 15% in controls).

Conclusions: The unexpected prevalences obtained for the groups studied suggest that there may be an association between sugar intolerance and depressive symptoms during adolescence.

Study link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15861016&query_hl=72

• Anxiety Following Increased Hind-Gut Fermentation
• Malabsorption of Carbohydrates and Depression in Children and Adolescents
• Carbohydrate Malabsorption Syndromes and Early Signs of Mental Depression in Females
• Fructose Malabsorption is Associated with Early Signs of Mental Depression