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Relationship of Dietary and Serum Zinc with Depression Score in Iranian Adolescent Girls

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Abstract

Zinc deficiency, which is common among Iranian populations, is believed to play a crucial role in the onset and progression of mood disorders such as depression in different stages of life. We have therefore investigated the relationship between serum/dietary zinc status and depression scores among adolescent girls living in northeastern Iran. Serum zinc was measured by flame atomic absorption (Varian AA240FS) and the mean zinc intake was assessed using 3-day food record. A validated Persian version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to determine the severity of depressive symptoms for all subjects. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18 software. There was a statistically significant correlation between dietary zinc intake and serum zinc concentration (r = 0.117, p = 0.018). Dietary intake of zinc (7.04 ± 4.28 mg/day) was significantly lower among subjects with mild to severe depression symptoms than those with no or minimal depression symptoms (8.06 ± 3.03 mg/day). Dietary zinc intake was inversely correlated with depression score (r = 0.133, p = 0.008). However, there was no significant difference in serum zinc concentrations among individuals with no or minimal and mild to severe depression symptoms (p = 0.5). Dietary zinc intake, but not serum zinc concentration, was inversely associated with depression symptoms. Therefore, controlled clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of zinc supplementation in the treatment of depression disorders.

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Acknowledgements

This study was support by a grant from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

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Author notes

  1. Kayhan Gonoodi and Alireza Moslem equally contributed as first author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Kayhan Gonoodi, Seyed Amir Tabatabaeizadeh & Mojtaba Shafiee

  2. Department of Modern Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Kayhan Gonoodi, Alireza Moslem, Mahsa Ahmadnezhad, Susan Darroudi, Zahra Mazloum, Maryam Tayefi, Seyed Amir Tabatabaeizadeh, Saeid Eslami, Mojtaba Shafiee, Zahra Khashayarmanesh, Hamideh Moalemzadeh Haghighi & Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran

    Alireza Moslem

  4. Nutrition Research Center, Department of Community Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mahsa Ahmadnezhad & Susan Darroudi

  5. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Mahsa Ahmadnezhad & Mojtaba Shafiee

  6. Evidence-Based Care Research Center, Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Zahra Mazloum

  7. Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Maryam Tayefi & Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan

  8. Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Saeid Eslami

  9. Department of Medical Informatics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Saeid Eslami

  10. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Zahra Khashayarmanesh & Hamideh Moalemzadeh Haghighi

  11. Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Division of Medical Education, Falmer, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 9PH, UK

    Gordon A. Ferns

Authors
  1. Kayhan Gonoodi
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  2. Alireza Moslem
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  3. Mahsa Ahmadnezhad
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  4. Susan Darroudi
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  5. Zahra Mazloum
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  6. Maryam Tayefi
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  7. Seyed Amir Tabatabaeizadeh
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  8. Saeid Eslami
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  9. Mojtaba Shafiee
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  10. Zahra Khashayarmanesh
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  11. Hamideh Moalemzadeh Haghighi
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  12. Gordon A. Ferns
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  13. Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Gordon A. Ferns or Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan.

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Gonoodi, K., Moslem, A., Ahmadnezhad, M. et al. Relationship of Dietary and Serum Zinc with Depression Score in Iranian Adolescent Girls. Biol Trace Elem Res 186, 91–97 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1301-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1301-6

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