Soft Drink Consumption and Depression Mediated by Gut Microbiome Alterations

Is soft drink consumption related to depression diagnosis and severity, and is this association mediated by gut microbiome alteration?In this cohort study, soft drink consumption was significantly associated with diagnosis of major depressive disorder, as well as depression severity, across a single-study cohort of 932 clinically diagnosed patients and healthy controls. This association was significantly mediated by abundance in female patients and controls.Education, prevention strategies, and policies aiming to reduce soft drink consumption are urgently required to mitigate depressive symptoms; in addition, interventions for depression targeting the microbiome composition appear promising.

Corresponding Author: Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Heinrich-Hoffmann-Straße 10, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (edwinthanarajah@med.uni-frankfurt.de).

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