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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Pediatric Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414852

Internalizing Psychological Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Fructose Malabsorption

Provisionally accepted
Annabel Maurer Annabel Maurer 1*Adrian Lieb Adrian Lieb 2Stephan Bongard Stephan Bongard 1
  • 1 Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sports Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • 2 University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Due to an inhibited tryptophan resorption, patients with fructose malabsorption are expected to experience decreased serotonin synthesis. A deficiency of serotonin may cause internalizing mental diseases like depression and anxiety, and a fructose-oriented eating behavior may affect these symptoms. The parents of 24 children and adolescents with a currently diagnosed fructose malabsorption aged 4;00-13;02 years (M = 8.10, SD = 2.05), the parents of 12 patients with a currently confirmed combination of fructose and lactose malabsorption aged 4;00-12;11 years (M = 8.07, SD = 2.11) and the parents of a comparative sample of 19 healthy participants aged 5;00 to 17;07 years (M = 9.06, SD = 3.04) were interviewed. The interviews were conducted using a screening questionnaire of the German "Diagnostic System of Mental Disorders in children and adolescents based on the ICD-10 and DSM-5 DISYPS-III" and a selfdeveloped questionnaire on eating, leisure and sleeping behavior. On standardized scales parents of children with fructose malabsorption reported higher levels of Depression compared to symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders (ODD/CD). Compared to healthy controls, for patients with fructose malabsorption, higher symptom levels of Depression and Anxiety were reported. With regard to eating behavior, within the group with a combination of fructose and lactose malabsorption, a strong positive association between an increased fruit sugar consumption and higher levels of Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders/Tics were found.These results suggest a close association between fructose malabsorption and elevated internalizing psychological symptoms in children and adolescents.

    Keywords: 2017-31 Clinical trial registration/ DRKS-ID DRKS00031047, January 25th 2023, retrospectively registered fructose malabsorption, Tryptophan, Serotonin, Children, adolescents

    Received: 09 Apr 2024; Accepted: 01 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Maurer, Lieb and Bongard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Annabel Maurer, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Sports Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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