Ultraprocessed Foods Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Study
Xu H, Yang J, Hu D, Li X, Zhou F
JMIR public health and surveillance · 1 citation
Review labels
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How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
- Intake measured by
- Food frequency questionnaire
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Government
- Yunnan Provincial Department of Education
- Grants
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (82160622)
Based on 2 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2025-10-20 · JMIR Public Health Surveill · vol. 11 · p. e75061
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications
- Cited
- 2 citations · more than 87% of similar papers · 1.8× the field average
- References
- 51 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- Depressive symptoms, Psychological intervention, Consumption (sociology), Depression (economics), Public health, Intervention (counseling)
- MeSH
- humans, cross-sectional studies, depression, adolescent, china, female, male, fast foods, surveys and questionnaires
5 authors
From CN
- Honglv Xu · correspondingKunming University
- Jie-Ru YangKunming University
- Dongyue HuKunming University
- Xiaoxiao LiKunming University
- Fangzhe ZhouKunming University
Abstract
Background
Ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption is very common among adolescents. Previous studies have suggested an association between UPF consumption and adolescent mental health problems, but studies on multiethnic adolescents in China are rare.
Objective
This study investigated the association between UPF consumption and depressive symptoms in multiethnic adolescents in Yunnan Province, China.
Methods
A cluster sampling of 8500 middle school students from 11 counties in Yunnan Province was conducted. The Chinese version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 was administered to assess depressive symptoms, and a food frequency questionnaire was used to collect UPF consumption data. A generalized linear model was used to analyze the association between UPF consumption and depressive symptoms, and a restricted cubic spline was used to fit the correlation plot. The association analysis was performed after adjusting for demographic and confounding variables that might have influenced depressive symptoms.
Results
The detection rates of depressive symptoms in adolescents were 28.3% (2402/8500) for the sample, 25.5% (1069/4184) for males, and 30.9% (1333/4316) for females. After adjusting for confounding variables, instant food (all participants: β=.22, 95% CI 0.13-0.32; P<.001; males: β=.15, 95% CI 0.03-0.27; P=.01; females: β=.29, 95% CI 0.15-0.43; P<.001), carbonated beverage (β=.20, 95% CI 0.12-0.29; P<.001; β=.15, 95% CI 0.04-0.26; P=.006; β=.29, 95% CI 0.16-0.43; P<.001;), energy beverage (β=.21, 95% CI 0.10-0.32; P<.001; β=.22, 95% CI 0.08-0.36; P=.002; β=.22, 95% CI 0.04-0.40; P=.01), and other beverage (β=.24, 95% CI 0.14-0.34; P<.001; β=.21, 95% CI 0.08-0.35; P=.002; β=.25, 95% CI 0.10-0.41; P=.001) consumption were associated with depressive symptoms for all participants, males, and females, respectively. Females were more sensitive to the association between UPF consumption and depressive symptoms. Moreover, female interaction with instant foods (β=.31, 95% CI 0.18-0.44; P<.001), carbonated beverages (β=.27, 95% CI 0.15-0.39; P<.001), energy beverages (β=.18, 95% CI 0.01-0.35; P=.04), and other sugar-sweetened beverages (β=.17, 95% CI 0.02-0.32; P=.03) was associated with depressive symptoms, respectively.
Conclusions
These results indicated that UPF consumption was related to depressive symptoms in Yunnan multiethnic adolescents. Health education and behavioral interventions that reduce UPF consumption could protect adolescents from depressive symptoms.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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