AUTHOR=Maurer Annabel , Lieb Adrian , Bongard Stephan 

TITLE=Internalizing psychological symptoms in children and adolescents with fructose malabsorption

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414852

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414852

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>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 disorders like depression and anxiety, and a fructose-oriented eating behavior may affect these symptoms.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The parents of 24 children and adolescents with a currently diagnosed fructose malabsorption aged 4;00–13;02 years (<italic>M</italic> = 8.10, <italic>SD</italic> = 2.05), the parents of 12 patients with a currently confirmed combination of fructose and lactose malabsorption aged 4;00–12;11 years (<italic>M</italic> = 8.07, <italic>SD</italic> = 2.11) and the parents of a comparative sample of 19 healthy participants aged 5;00 to 17;07 years (<italic>M</italic> = 9.06, <italic>SD</italic> = 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 self-developed questionnaire on eating, leisure and sleeping behavior.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>On standardized scales parents of children with fructose malabsorption reported higher levels of <italic>Depression</italic> compared to symptoms of <italic>Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders</italic> (ADHD) and <italic>Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders</italic> (ODD/CD). Compared to healthy controls, for patients with fructose malabsorption, higher symptom levels of <italic>Depression</italic> and <italic>Anxiety</italic> 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 <italic>Anxiety</italic> and <italic>Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders/Tics</italic> were found.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>These results suggest a close association between fructose malabsorption and elevated internalizing psychological symptoms in children and adolescents.</p><p><bold>Clinical trial registration:</bold><ext-link xlink:href="https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00031047" ext-link-type="uri" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00031047</ext-link>, DRKS-ID [DRKS00031047].</p></sec>